This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25139185
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Bijan Ebrahimi murder: Lee James jailed for life | Bijan Ebrahimi murder: Lee James jailed for life |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A man has been jailed for life after admitting he murdered his disabled neighbour who had been wrongly branded a paedophile. | A man has been jailed for life after admitting he murdered his disabled neighbour who had been wrongly branded a paedophile. |
| Lee James, 24, killed Bijan Ebrahimi and set fire to his body in the Brislington area of Bristol in July. | Lee James, 24, killed Bijan Ebrahimi and set fire to his body in the Brislington area of Bristol in July. |
| Mr Justice Simon ordered that James must serve a minimum of 18 years in prison. | Mr Justice Simon ordered that James must serve a minimum of 18 years in prison. |
| Bristol Crown Court heard Mr Ebrahimi, who was an Iranian national and in his 40s, died from head injuries. | Bristol Crown Court heard Mr Ebrahimi, who was an Iranian national and in his 40s, died from head injuries. |
| Stephen Norley, 24, who had admitted assisting an offender, was given a four-year jail term. | Stephen Norley, 24, who had admitted assisting an offender, was given a four-year jail term. |
| Prosecutors say Norley helped James drag Mr Ebrahimi's body from the scene of the attack and assisted in setting fire to the corpse by obtaining white spirit. | |
| Mr Ebrahimi was murdered three days after he was arrested by police following complaints that he had been taking pictures of children in Brislington. | |
| Officers examined his camera, videos and computer but found nothing suspicious and he was released without charge. | |
| His burnt body was found in Whitmore Avenue, just 100 yards from his maisonette home in Capgrave Crescent. | |
| Sentencing the pair, who both lived near the victim, the judge described the murder as "deeply shocking". | |
| 'So much anger' | |
| He said it was "a vigilante crime" and "an act of murderous injustice", adding that claims that Mr Ebrahimi was a paedophile were "baseless". | He said it was "a vigilante crime" and "an act of murderous injustice", adding that claims that Mr Ebrahimi was a paedophile were "baseless". |
| The court was shown a video shot by Mr Ebrahimi of James holding a beer can and threatening him after he realised he was being filmed. | |
| The court was told that during the fatal attack James repeatedly stamped on Mr Ebrahimi's head, shouting "have some of that". | |
| Prosecutor Andrew Langdon QC said that after murdering Mr Ebrahimi and burning the body, James told his girlfriend: "We sorted him out. We took care of things." | |
| James, also of Capgrave Crescent, told police he had kicked Mr Ebrahimi "like a football... I had so much anger in me". | |
| The court heard Mr Ebrahimi made several calls to police in the 48 hours before his murder, but "those calls were not responded to". | |
| Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Nick Gargan issued an apology after the tragedy, saying: "Mr Ebrahimi was someone who deserved the protection of all of us and we are very sorry about what happened to him." | |
| An Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation has led to four constables, a sergeant and an inspector being served with notices of gross misconduct in the wake of the attack. |