A 15-year-old boy who “triumphantly” bragged about stabbing a “kind and loving” teenager to death must serve at least 12 years behind bars for his murder.
Mr Justice Spencer appeared to be choked with emotion when addressing the mother of the murdered teenager, Tomasz Oleszak, 14, a “beautiful boy” who was killed by the knife fanatic Leighton Amies in a Gateshead park in October.
In passing a life sentence at Newcastle crown court, with a 12-year minimum term, the judge said Amies “relished” having a knife that night, which he had taken from his kitchen at home. When he shouted “I’ve wetted your boy” at a group of teenagers after he had stabbed Tomasz, the judge said this was done “triumphantly”.
An emotional witness statement from Tomasz’s mother, Kamila Wisniewska, was read out in court. In it she paid tribute to her “kind, loving and sporty” older son, who was born in Poland and who moved with his family to Gateshead in 2012.
She said he was popular, respectful and hated violence.
The judge paid tribute to Tomasz as he addressed his teenage killer in the dock: “This was the beautiful, exceptional, gifted boy whose life you, Leighton, brought to an end.”
Amies, then just 14, stabbed Tomasz deep in his chest after he was followed by a group of boys.
The judge accepted Amies was not the instigator of the incident, but added Tomasz was blameless, and said the group who had followed Amies must live with the knowledge their “stupidity” led to his death.
“However, the principal responsibility lies with you in taking the knife with you,” the judge told Amies.
After Amies was found guilty in April, the judge lifted a ban on the media identifying the defendant owing to the seriousness of the crime and as a deterrent to teenagers carrying knives.
It has now been revealed that Amies was excluded from his primary school for threatening to stab a teacher, and from secondary school for arson when he set fire to a plastic window.
He had an interest in knives, as demonstrated by images police found after his arrest, the court heard.
Amies had made educational progress since he had been held in secure accommodation, and his reading age had increased from 10 to more than 13 years old, the judge said.
The defendant had denied murder, claiming he did not know he had stabbed Tomasz and slashed another youth’s coat after being attacked by the group.
