The teenager who murdered 12-year-old Leo Ross has been sentenced to a minimum of 13 years in custody at Birmingham Crown Court.
He previously pleaded guilty to murdering the boy as he walked home from school in the Hall Green area of Birmingham.
Passing sentence, Mr Justice Choudhury KC said that after the tariff expires it will be “up to the parole board to determine if you can be released”, adding: “You will be on licence for the rest of your life.”
Addressing the defendant directly, the judge said he wanted to take a moment to remember Leo, describing him as “an innocent boy” who was “loved by all who knew him with a future ahead of him”.
“You are still a child, only 14 years old at the time of these offences,” he told him.
However, Justice Choudhury added that many would struggle to see “what you did over three days in January last” as “the actions of a child”.
He said Leo’s family was now living through a “living hell”.
Turning to the earlier attacks on three elderly women in the same park in the days before Leo Ross was killed, the judge said he had seen photographs of the injuries inflicted.
Leo Ross was described as ‘loved by all who knew him with a future ahead of him’
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WEST MIDLANDS POLICE“The savagery required to attack such injuries” was “hard to imagine,” he said.
Justice Choudhury acknowledged that no sentence would bring comfort to Leo’s family but said it marked the conclusion of the legal process.
Referring to the attack in the park, the judge told the teenager: “What you did in the park was horrific and shocking.”
He added that the three women the defendant also attacked should have felt safe, as should Leo, “but you took away that.”
A mural dedicated to Leo Ross | PA
The 15-year-old killer, who pleaded guilty last month, cannot be named for legal reasons.
Alistair Webster KC, who was representing the defendant, said he did not seek in any way to diminish the devastating impact on the victim’s family.
He added that the events had also profoundly affected the defendant’s relatives.
Describing his client as “a young man with formidable mental health problems”, Mr Webster said he required significant help and support.
The court heard that his background included episodes of self-harm, beating himself in the face, catching and storing his own blood, as well as suicidal thoughts and occasional attempts to take his own life.
Mr Webster said the teenager had been hearing voices for a considerable period and had exhibited “bizarre behaviour”. He suffers from conduct disorder and ADHD, the court was told.
He added that his client was not “someone who carefully plans what he does”, and said he was surprised the defendant had not been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Addressing the defendant’s mental state, Justice Choudhury said: “You knew and were aware of the consequences of your actions.”
“You were thinking coolly and rationally.”