Schoolboy's killers facing life

Three men found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Ben Kinsella are due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey later. Ben, the brother of EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, was stabbed 11 times after a row in a north London bar. Michael Alleyne, 18, Juress Kika, 19, and Jade Braithwaite, 20, all from London, face mandatory life sentences. After their conviction on Thursday, Ben's father George said he hoped their sentences would "reflect the brutality that was inflicted on our son". It will be up to the Common Serjeant of London, Judge Brian Barker QC, to set the minimum tariffs they must serve before being considered for release. The trial heard Ben was running away from the fight in Islington when he was attacked on 29 June last year. He had been at the bar with friends to celebrate the end of their GCSE exams. The court heard he was stabbed in revenge for a claim that Braithwaite had earlier been "disrespected". Although the confrontation in the bar had nothing to do with him, Ben was chased along the street with other youngsters - and was attacked and stabbed to death when he stopped running. The defendants had admitted punching him but each denied being responsible for stabbing him. Ben's family said walking away from trouble had "cost him his life". Speaking outside court, Ben's father George, 49, said: "Almost one year ago, our precious gentle son, Ben was brutally murdered on the streets of London. "How many more families will have to stand outside the Old Bailey to get justice for their child? "Our son's only crime was to be the last one, running away, from those animals. "Knife crime is now sadly embedded in the very heart of Great Britain. Parents live in fear until their children are safely home. "It can be for a wrong word, a wrong look, or a wrong post code ... in Ben's case it was simply nothing to do with him at all. "We are happy with the verdict given and really hope that the sentencing will reflect the brutality that was inflicted on our son." Previous convictions Ben's sister Brooke said: "There is never going to be enough justice but we have got it now."
Ben's mother Deborah Kinsella had earlier told the trial judge her son's life was "cruelly" taken. She said: "We had brought Ben up to always walk away from trouble. This sadly cost him his life." After the verdicts, it emerged Kika had been on the run from police following a robbery in which a man was stabbed nine days before Ben's death. He had convictions for cannabis possession, robbery, affray and for restricting or obstructing a constable while Braithwaite had been given a community order for an attempted robbery. Alleyne was being supervised by the local youth offending team as part of an 18-month detention and training order for drug dealing.
He was a convicted cocaine and heroin dealer and also had convictions for robbery and possession of cannabis. He had been released three months earlier after serving half the sentence in a detention centre.