Life sentence for young men who killed boy on bus

Two teenagers, aged 15 and 16, were sentenced this Friday to life in prison for the murder of Kelyan Bokassa. The 14-year-old was stabbed 27 times on a public bus in broad daylight in Woolwich, southeast London. The attack, which occurred on January 7th of this year, was described in court as "premeditated and extremely violent."

According to the British press , Kelyan, an aspiring rapper who used the stage name "Grippa," was on the top deck of the double-decker bus, number 472, sitting in the last seat, when two young men, armed with a large knife , approached him. Surveillance footage released during the trial showed that the attack was almost immediate and without warning, with the attackers wounding the victim 27 times, "while smiling," giving Kelyan no time to defend himself. The attack lasted no more than "13 to 16 seconds," the judge said, with the boy screaming for help. Other passengers and the driver tried to rescue him as he pleaded, "Take me to my mommy." But in vain: he was pronounced dead at the scene.

During the trial at London's Old Bailey, prosecutor Tom Little KC stated that the two defendants were aware of Kelyan's presence on the bus in advance, ruling out any possibility of it being a "spontaneous attack." The prosecution emphasized that the planned nature of the crime, combined with the number of blows, demonstrates an " extreme level of violence ." According to Little KC, one of the teenagers threw the knife into the River Thames after the attack in an attempt to conceal the murder weapon, which was later recovered by authorities.

The two young men were arrested on January 15th, along with a 44-year-old woman on suspicion of being accomplices , following a police operation that included the release of surveillance footage and the public identification of the suspects. The following day, they were formally charged with murder and possession of a bladed weapon. On May 23rd, both men admitted to the crime in court.

Kelyan's family attended the hearing where the teenagers confessed to the murder. His mother, Mary Bokassa, described her son as a humorous and generous young man, passionate about music, soccer, and the arts. "He was very kind and thoughtful, had a great sense of humor, and genuinely cared about others," she said through tears.

"The brutal and senseless attack on Kelyan has deeply impacted his friends, the community, and all those who worked tirelessly to identify, arrest, and prosecute those responsible. I hope Kelyan's family can find some solace in this outcome," Chief Inspector Sarah Lee of London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement .

The defendants already had a history of possession of a bladed weapon and one of them was, at the time of the crime, serving a juvenile supervision measure for a previous conviction.