The devastated mum of tragic Jack Woodley has paid tribute to her "cheeky chappy, blue-eyed boy" as the group of teenagers who cruelly murdered him are sentenced.
Zoe McGill has opened up about her "happy-go-lucky" son saying he wanted to make her proud and was due to start a new job at Amazon the Monday after he tragically died. But after he was surrounded and attacked by a group of youths near the Britannia Inn pub on Newbottle Street on October 16, 2021, he never made it to his new job.
Jack had been enjoying a day out with his girlfriend at the Houghton Feast, in Houghton-le-Spring, last year before he was kicked, punched, and stabbed. And now as the 10 teenage killers behind his murder were sentenced to a total 124 year in detention at Newcastle Crown Court, Zoe has paid tribute to Jack saying he would "light up a room".
Read more: Jack Woodley murder sentence: The lives of 10 teen killers revealed
The mum said: "Jack had had a few problems in his life that he had overcome and things were looking up. He just applied to Amazon and got a new job there which was due to start the Monday after he died. He wanted to make his mam proud. He wrote me a letter after he spiralled a bit out of control saying I was his world and he wanted to make me proud and he was going to do that.
"We always used to call him cheeky chappy, blue-eyed boy because he was just that. He was cheeky but in a nice, loving way. He used to light up any room that he walked in, he was always joking and laughing. Jack hated to be serious, he would always make a joke or laugh about things in life rather than be down about it. That was just how Jack was.
"He was happy-go-lucky, he was very adventurous, loved to be in the city. I used to always want him to stay home with me and he used to say: 'Mam I want to go live in a city and be free' He loved to be free and liked to take every day as it come."
The caring lad from County Durham went above and beyond for those less fortunate than him with his mum recalling how he had helped a homeless man and his dog he met by giving him money and buying dog food. The man would later go to his funeral and write a verse for him.
Zoe said: "He loved lights and his favourite place was the bridge in Newcastle he used to hang around there a lot with his friends and he actually met a homeless man there who came to his funeral and wrote a verse about how Jack had helped him and his dog on the bridge.
"He gave him his money and went and got his dog food from Aldi that was how Jack was. He always looked out for people who were less fortunate than himself. From a young age, he was like that. I think he did make it on the news one time for helping the homeless at 11, he was in secondary school at Woodham. He always had a heart of gold, he wasn't an angel by no means but his heart was always in the right place."
On Friday, the 10 teens responsible for Jack's murder were sentenced to serve over 124 years in detention by Judge Rodney Jameson QC.
The youth who inflicted the fatal stab wound was sentenced to serve a minimum term of 17 years before he is eligible for release.
The second teen, who is 16-years-old, was sentenced to serve a minimum term of 13 and a half years.
The third teen, 15, was sentenced to a minimum term of 15 years.
The fourth teen was sentenced to serve a minimum of 15 years.
The youngest of the defendants, a 15-year-old, was sentenced to a minimum of eight years.
The sixth teen, also 15-years-old was sentenced to serve a minimum of 13 years.
The seventh teen, 15, must serve a minimum of 10 years.
The eighth teen, who is 16-years-old, must serve a minimum of 11 years.
The ninth youth, 16, must serve a minimum of 11 years.
The tenth teen, the second 18-year-old, must serve a minimum of 11 years
Read next:
- Jack Woodley murder: One teen killer had traits of autism and ADHD identified after conviction
- "We heard our son's heart beat for the last time": Jack Woodley's mum reveals agony to judge set to sentence teen killers
- Jack Woodley stabbing: Nine teens submit appeals against murder convictions
- 'It's disgusting': Mum's fury after hit and run drug driver who hurt her son walks free from court
- Heartbroken family of South Tyneside man say he took his own life after battling cocaine addiction
