Life sentence for knife murder boy

Jason Terry, 16, has been jailed for life for his part in a stabbing
12 April 2012

A 16-year-old boy who took part in a "merciless and ferocious" attack in which a lab technician was repeatedly stabbed has been given a life sentence.

Jason Terry was just 15 when he and two older men got drunk and broke into the home of 46-year-old Tony Fernandes in Croydon, south London, in July last year.

When Mr Fernandes tried to throw them out of the flat, he was "ruthlessly" beaten and stabbed 15 times before bleeding to death, the Old Bailey heard.

Terry, of Limes Road, Croydon, was told he must serve at least 13 years behind bars after being found guilty of murder.

Darren Listen, 27, of Derby Road, Croydon, who was also convicted of the charge, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years.

Terry's uncle, Paul Maddix, 44, of no fixed address, admitted the charge and was given a life sentence with a minimum of 16 years.

The court heard that 17 knives were found at the scene, and up to six of them had been used to stab Mr Fernandes, one of them broken in two and another bent by the ferocity of the attack.

Maddix and Terry had taken cannabis and all three defendants had been drinking before targeting the victim, whom they saw as "easy prey", said Judge Stephen Kramer.

Listen had known Mr Fernandes for about two weeks and he and the other two broke into the flat while he was out in order to have somewhere to stay, but he argued with them and asked them to leave.

"That led to a merciless and ferocious attack on him," said Judge Kramer. "This was an intense episode of extreme violence."

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