Professional help for teenage killer

A judge who sentenced a boy of 15 to five years for the
manslaughter of a teenage Somalian refugee told him she hoped he
would not end up in an adult prison.

Mrs Justice Rafferty said she wanted to give the boy a chance to
have professional help.

The judge told the teenager, from Harlesden, London, that she was
going to sentence him as though he had pleaded guilty to
manslaughter at the beginning of the trial.

“I wanted toÉ try to turn you round now by putting you in a
position where you can have structured help from professionals,”
she said. “I very much hope you won’t have to go into an adult
prison.”

The teenager was 14 when he stabbed Kayser Osman, 15, with a
kitchen knife outside a youth club in north-west London.

His 11-year-old cousin was cleared of all charges by the jury,
while the 15-year-old was found guilty of manslaughter on the
grounds of provocation.

Both boys denied murder in March this year.

The 15-year-old was returned to secure accommodation in Essex until
it is decided where he will spend the rest of his sentence.