The family of Connor Lyons say they have suffered a "kick in the teeth" after finding out that their son's killer is to have four years taken off his prison sentence. Connor's body was found on the river bank close to Thomas Clarkson Way, Hull, on January 19, 2021.
The teen's cause of death later found to be strangulation and drowning. Described by friends and family as a "loveable and chilled out" teen, his death sent shockwaves throughout the community.
Cole Jarvis was later found guilty of Connor's murder and handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years at Hull Crown Court on November 12, 2021. A sentence appeal was lodged earlier this year, with a hearing on May 12 describing the 25-year sentence was "excessive".
This conclusion was drawn from the fact that the judge had arrived at a minimum term that was too long, based on the available evidence, Hull Live reports. In a judgement published since, the Judiciary ruled that four years are to be taken off Jarvis' sentence - which Connor's family says will "send the wrong message" to other young killers.
The Judiciary examined the critical findings of fact in the case, which concluded that Jarvis' intent to conduct a robbery quickly turned into the intention to kill 17-year-old Connor. They agreed that under the pretence of going lamping - a method of hunting animals - Jarvis had planned from the outset to lure Connor to a remote spot.
The report says that there, he would rob Connor of his mobile phone, bracelet, and bicycle, and had taken a length of rope with him to assist in the robbery. At the scene, Jarvis had maintained the pretence of lamping until the opportunity had arisen to carry out the robbery.
Having robbed Connor, and realising that, this time, he could not avoid detection, Jarvis had then formed an intention to kill, and had strangled Connor with a ligature and had held him down in the water until he drowned. He then made up a series of lies to cover up what he had done, such as suggesting Connor was suicidal.
Despite these facts, the Judiciary disagreed with Judge Thackray's ruling that there was strong evidence that this was a murder done for gain, which attracted a 30-year starting point. They instead ruled that the starting point for the minimum term should have been 15 years, which would then need to be re-balanced based on the aggravating and mitigating factors.
The aggravating factors included the violent manner of the killing, the background of bullying, the stealing of the bicycle and the immediate attempt to sell it, and the various attempts by Jarvis to cover up what he had done. The mitigating factors were limited to Jarvis' age - though the judge did not find him to have been immature for his age - and his lack of previous convictions, which was of little weight given the background of bullying.
A statement in the appeal judgement reads: "In our view, the aggravating factors significantly outweighed the mitigating factors, and should have resulted in an increase from the starting point of 15 years to an ultimate minimum term of 21 years. For the reasons set out above, we quash the minimum term of 25 years, and substitute for it a minimum term of 21 years."
Although the length of the term is still significant, the victim's family have been devastated with the result, after already suffering through Jarvis' lack of remorse for his evil actions.
A family member told Hull Live: "Today, we got the news that Cole Jarvis - Connor's killer - has won four years back off his appeal. He will now serve 21 years instead of 25 years, that leaves him with 19 years to do in January 2023.
"We're devastated at this news, just when we thought we had justice, it's such a blow to us. We will never get Connor back, it's sending out the wrong message to these young killers. It's a kick in the teeth.
"It's not right that Jarvis gets four years of his life back because we can never get any time back with Connor. It's an insult to Connor's memory for us because that's all we have left. How can this be justice?"
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