Rhamero West: Three jailed for student's stab murder

Two men have been jailed for life and a teenager has been detained for murdering a 16-year-old who was stabbed after being chased through the streets.

Rhamero West, a nephew of ex-England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips, was attacked in Old Trafford on 9 September after his first day at college.

His mother condemned his murderers for "giggling and smirking in the dock".

Marquis Richards, 17, Ryan Cashin, 19, and Giovanni Lawrence, 20, were jailed after being found guilty of his murder.

Cashin, of Nancy Street, Hulme, was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years and four months, Lawrence, of no fixed address, was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years and seven months and Richards, of Anne Nuttall Road, Hulme, was detained for 17 years and three months.

Manchester Crown Court heard how Rhamero was driving a stolen BMW with his friends in Moss Side when two other cars sped past them.

While stationary in traffic, 17-year-old Richards, who can now be named after the court lifted a ban on identifying him, approached from another stolen BMW and lunged at Rhamero with a large knife several times.

Prosecutors said that Rhamero "forced the car he was driving in between cars in front of him" to get away.

Richards then followed with Cashin in the two BMWs.

The jury heard a "frightened" Rhamero, who was driving "too fast and in an erratic manner", crashed into another car and a tree, before he and his friends ran away towards the Old Trafford area.

Richards then chased Rhamero and his friends with a large knife.

But when he seemed to run out of breath, he handed the weapon to Cashin, who "took hold of it like a baton in a relay race".

Rhamero tried to escape by banging on doors for help and hopping through gardens.

He attempted to hide in a garden by lying down but Cashin found him, shouting "got you", before stabbing him several times, the court heard.

Cashin and Richards then escaped in the BMWs, one of which was driven by Lawrence.

Local residents gave Rhamero first aid before paramedics arrived and conducted open heart surgery in the street, the court heard.

He was taken to hospital but later died.

Lawrence remained on the run until January when he was arrested by police in Cheshire.

In a victim impact statement, Rhamero's mother Kelly Brown said the killers had "hunted my son down like a pack of wolves".

"From start to finish during this trial I have seen no remorse from any of the defendants and what they have done to our boy," she said.

"You have been giggling and smirking in the dock like it's all a big game to you."

Addressing Richards, she said: "The last day you got found guilty you did a cut-throat gesture and told me my son had been smoked. So all I can say is thank you for showing your true colours."

The convicted trio laughed and waved to the upstairs public gallery as they were led from the dock.

Det Ch Insp Liz Hopkinson said: "No parent should ever have to receive the news that their child has been killed and the perpetrators, refusing to admit responsibility, have only added to their suffering by forcing them to endure the pain of a trial."

Investigators said they spoke to hundreds of witnesses in what prosecutors called a "complex case".

Lisa Connor, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "We used phone location data, CCTV footage and forensic evidence to pinpoint where each person was at the specific points in time.

"Those who have been convicted of Rhamero's murder pursued him relentlessly and gave him no chance to escape or defend himself."

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