Life sentence for teenage robber who murdered boy aged 16 in park

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Judge John Hillen cited Metropolitan Police figures which logged 78,034 knife crime offences in a period between 2017 and 2022, with Haringey borough having the second highest rate. According to the Met figures, 30 young people lost their lives to murder in 2021 – the highest number of teenage homicides since the Second World War, the judge said. The courts have to deal with the consequences of knife crime on the victims, their families, and also on the young perpetrators whose own lives and their families' lives are ruined by this terrible trend of violence Judge John Hillen Judge Hillen said: “The courts have to deal with the consequences of knife crime on the victims, their families, and also on the young perpetrators whose own lives and their families’ lives are ruined by this terrible trend of violence.” The judge noted that Sylvester was 16 at the time of the murder and had been robbing people since the age of 13, with six previous convictions for nine offences.