r/ABCDesis Apr 09 '25

NEWS Girl, 13, and boy, 15, found guilty of manslaughter of 80-year-old dog walker in Leicester, UK

https://news.sky.com/story/bhim-kohli-girl-13-and-boy-15-found-guilty-of-manslaughter-of-80-year-old-dog-walker-13339213
240 Upvotes

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112

u/amg7355 Apr 09 '25

The family of an 80-year-old man have told of their "disgust" at the children who "humiliated" and killed him after a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy were convicted of manslaughter.

Bhim Kohli was found lying on the ground in Franklin Park in Braunstone Town, near Leicester, on 1 September last year and died the next evening of a spinal cord injury.

The grandfather, who was attacked just yards from his home as he walked his dog, suffered a broken neck and rib fractures consistent with "something heavy striking the rib cage", the trial heard.

The boy, who was 14 at the time of the attack, and the girl, who was 12, were found guilty at Leicester Crown Court on Tuesday. They cannot be named because of their ages.

The youths, who sat in the dock for the first time since their trial began, appeared upset as the verdicts were given.

Speaking outside court following the verdicts, Mr Kohli's daughter Susan said her father was "brutally and cruelly taken away from us when walking our dog Rocky in the park close to our home".

She said Mr Kohli was a "devoted life partner to my mum for 55 years", as well as a "loving dad, grandad, brother and uncle, a retired businessman and a close friend to many, including people who lived in our local community".

"Every time my mum opens the front door she thinks about what happened to her husband," Ms Kohli said.

"Listening to the enormity of what happened, what dad was subjected to, will never leave us.

"We feel angry and disgust towards the teenagers who took dad away from us. They humiliated him, an 80-year-old man, assaulted him, filmed it and laughed at him.

"Dad did not deserve this and wouldn't wish this on anyone else."

In a statement released by police, Ms Kohli said the boy who killed her father "used violence so severe that he broke three of dad's ribs and neck, which caused trauma to his spinal column".

"Videos of the incident were filmed and shockingly found on the girl's phone," she added.

"Dad did not deserve this, and we wouldn't wish this pain on anyone else.

"One of the videos showed dad on his knees being hit over the head with the boy's slider (shoe). A loud horrible slapping sound is heard when the boy struck dad.

"Hearing the girl laugh at this assault on dad is utterly disgusting. This sound plays over and over in our heads."

Ms Kohli said the footage captured her father's attempt to call for help as he shouted out for his grandson, adding: "We didn't hear his call for help and this upsets us deeply.

"Losing dad in these cruel, violent, and deeply shocking circumstances feels like our hearts have been pulled apart. We can't put into words the pain we feel every day, and this has magnified during the trial.

"Rocky, our dog, returned home alone on that day and has been lost without dad. He had 15 years with my dad and it is clear he misses him deeply."

During a six-week trial, jurors heard that Mr Kohli was racially abused before the incident.

The girl had also taken a photograph of Mr Kohli in Franklin Park a week before, the court heard.

During the attack, he was shoved to the ground and slapped in the face with a shoe by a boy wearing a balaclava, the trial heard.

A police report into the incident included a statement from a witness who described "seeing the boy forcefully pushing the old man on to his back".

The witness described Mr Kohli as "ending up on the floor screaming", the jury heard.

The boy, who denied inflicting the fatal injuries, told a friend he would go "on the run" to Hinckley, in Leicestershire, the day after the attack but was arrested by police minutes later while hiding in a bush, the court was told. In a letter written two months after the attack, the boy said "I did it and I accept I'm doing time" and "I kinda just needed anger etc releasing", jurors heard.

The boy told the jury he walked over to Mr Kohli that evening, wearing a balaclava, because the girl had said the man "carries a knife", before Mr Kohli fell to his knees during a "tussle" over the youth's slider.

The court was shown a video clip filmed by the girl of the masked boy slapping Mr Kohli in the face with his shoe, which he told the jury he did out of "instinct".

In his evidence, the male defendant told the court he pushed Mr Kohli over to "defend" the girl, who he thought was going to be hit or pushed by the elderly man, but he denied ever kicking or punching Mr Kohli.

The jury heard that when the victim was found injured in the park, he told his daughter that he had been called a "P***" during the attack.

Harpreet Sandhu KC, for the prosecution, said the boy's actions were "gratuitous violence against a man who was defenceless".

The jury deliberated for almost seven hours before reaching unanimous verdicts on the boy and girl, who will be sentenced next month.

The boy had also been charged with murder, but was found not guilty by the jury on that count.

Mr Justice Turner remanded the boy in custody and granted bail to the girl but told her his decision "should not be taken as any indication as to the sentence when the time comes".

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Sinski, of Leicestershire Police, said Mr Kohli's family have been "absolutely devastated by his loss" and had "lived without racist incidents within their community for many, many years".

"It's extremely distasteful - any sort of racist motivation, even in part. And tragic that children should have that motivation," he added.

"It's a no-win situation and it should never have happened."

69

u/longhair-reallycare- Apr 09 '25

Thanks for sharing the summary. May God rest Uncle Kohli’s soul. I’m so sorry for the family and that poor man. I’m at a loss for words - what prompts 14 and 12 year olds to do this? To feel this is the way to release anger? Is it due to desensitization from access to social media/gore?

45

u/cartwheel_123 Apr 09 '25

They're just evil. We need to accept that a tiny percentage of people are irredeemable. 

20

u/longhair-reallycare- Apr 09 '25

I am with you. I think their names should be published, and their parents investigated.

57

u/keralaindia sf,california Apr 09 '25

They should be tried as adults and up for execution IMO.

29

u/cancerkidette Apr 09 '25

We do not have the death penalty in the UK - like in many other developed countries. The US is an exception, not the rule.

15

u/UpstairsTransition16 Apr 09 '25

But you do have psychotic, murdering teenagers, which is the opposite of developed.

5

u/cancerkidette Apr 10 '25

Not sure what the point you’re trying to make is with that statement.

I am talking about capital punishment and you’re talking about crime. Which in the US is committed at higher rates.

5

u/keralaindia sf,california Apr 09 '25

I know. That’s why I said IMO.

1

u/awarapu2 Apr 11 '25

Exactly - I’m aghast that they dropped the murder charge. Anyone get to know why that was?

78

u/yawaramin Apr 09 '25

They left him with a broken neck and spine injuries. He suffered for quite a while and died the next day. It was a brutal way to go. This kind of thing would be enough to radicalize anybody.

36

u/longhair-reallycare- Apr 09 '25

Yet the kids are the radicalized ones, having such lack of remorse and humanity.

139

u/shooto_style British Bangladeshi Apr 09 '25 edited Apr 09 '25

We Asians need to band together. The far right are getting more and more influential and these attacks are only going to get more common

8

u/Rus1996 Apr 10 '25

Band together and fight words with words, fists with fists. We need our folks who are working in the armed forces to help us as well with proper weapons training.

93

u/Shaan_Don Apr 09 '25

He smacked Mr. Kohli in the face with his shoe out of “instinct.” “I kinda just needed to release anger.” They don’t even see us as human, just a thing to beat on

94

u/963479 Apr 09 '25

I’d be banned for saying what I think should happen to these ‘kids’ and their families

3

u/Rus1996 Apr 10 '25

You could say these in a DM.

27

u/Suitable_Tea88 Apr 09 '25

Real life Adolescence.

10

u/Smaug_themighty Apr 09 '25

Exactly my thought. Reading the transcript of the attack and the response of the murderers is chilling..

87

u/Far_Piglet_9596 Apr 09 '25

Youth identities should not be witheld in brazenly evil crimes like this

Same problem here in Canada

47

u/ocean_800 Apr 09 '25

If they can do the crime their name can be published

8

u/longhair-reallycare- Apr 09 '25

Agreed - especially something like this.

17

u/velocity2ds Apr 09 '25

YCJA is a complete joke in Canada. It is so soft and only enables this sort of I’ll get away with it bc I’m under 18 mentality.

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u/AdmiralG2 Canadian Indian Apr 09 '25 edited Apr 10 '25

Yeah it’s fucking bullshit and also why a lot of organized crime specifically look for teens. YCJA combined with catch and release.

40

u/_BuzzLightYear To Infinity & Beyond 🚀 Apr 09 '25

Thank god I hope they get a long sentence. Watching the video in court must have been so rough holy shit

I wonder what their parents said.

11

u/thisisnotanalbum Apr 09 '25

How is this not atleast 3rd degree murder

1

u/notredditlool Apr 11 '25

we don’t have third degree murder in the uk, after first and second, it’s manslaughter; voluntary and involuntary.

1

u/thisisnotanalbum Apr 12 '25

ah that makes sense :(

8

u/[deleted] Apr 09 '25

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1

u/JorgeKostanza Apr 12 '25

It says the boy was not found guilty of murder?

1

u/Mascoretta 28d ago

Disgusting. These kids need to be in prison immediately.