Aiden Ramsdale has been handed a life sentence for the brutal murder of Bradley Wall.
Ramsdale, 25, has been told he must serve 33 years behind bars after being found guilty of murder. He was found guilty in January but Leeds Live is only now able to report this after a reporting restriction prohibiting the publication of the verdict was lifted. The restriction was put in place until proceedings relating to a separate robbery matter came to a close.
Leeds Crown Court heard on Thursday Bradley suffered over 100 injuries during an attack at Ramsdale's flat on June 23 last year. It was said he had been "lured" to the address after meeting Ramsdale at a petrol station. After around ten minutes at the property, Bradley had either tried to escape or had been thrown from the window before Ramsdale put paving slabs on top of his body, jumped on it and tried to set it alight.
Read more: Live as Aiden Ramsdale sentenced for horrific murder of Bradley Wall
The court heard he was alive for around 30 minutes during the attack, after which Ramsdale and his co-accused Patrick Mason took his shoes, jacket and bank cards. Mason was found not guilty of murder following the eight-week trial.
It was said following his arrest Ramsdale lied and claimed he had seen indecent images of children on Mr Wall's phone. As he sentenced him, his honour Judge Jameson KC said there was not a "shred of evidence" to support that claim.
Ramsdale also bragged to his father who visited him at HMP Lincoln during his remand about the murder which he described as like an "ISIS killing."
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Ramsdale said: "I put a brick on his neck and jumped on his neck. Still wouldn't die. I got a jumper and tied it around his neck and choked him for 15 minutes. We took his trainers, jacket...bank card, looking for people to rob in the street." In emails sent to his partner, Ramsdale said "f*** da police", "nonce exterminator" and "Leeds United until I die."
Prosecutor Peter Moulson KC told the court: "It is the Crown's case Mr Wall fought to stop the robbery on him and fought for his life." Mr Moulson said the "true motive was robbery and whether he was thrown from the window or whether he tried to make his escape is futive in our submission."
He said: "If he was thrown from that room, the height of the window from the ground 6.3 metres, but in any event there was a determination by Mr RFamsdale to kill Mr Wall and cover up that killing." The prosecutor said glass, brick, a jumper would have "in determination" killed him.
It was said Ramsdale had been using drugs since he was young and had shoplifted to facilitate his drug use, although he had turned to more violent offending such as robbery at the time of Mr Wall's death. Ten days before the murder, he had robbed a man. He was also sentenced for that offence on Thursday.
The court heard Mr Wall used tablets and cannabis but was working to reduce his drug use and was about to begin a course to become a holiday rep.
Judge Jameson said: "He had no previous convictions and a decent young man with vulnerabilities he was working to address that you wanted to exploit." He added that Ramsdale had told his father he wanted to rob someone and to rob Bradley Wall.
He said: "It will never be certain whether he was forced from the window or tried to escape. He may have been struck with a piece of wood," he said. The court heard Ramsdale said he held a piece of glass to Bradley's eye, stabbed him with a dirty needle and held him by his legs out of the window in an attempt to get his identification number for his phone.
The judge said: "As he lay in the stairwell you decided - in your own phrase - to 'finish him off.' You said you were being investigated for the early robbery and you decided his life was of less value than you being investigated for an earlier robbery.
"There were over 100 injuries to his body. Death was not immediate. Bradley Wall remained alive for at least 30 minutes after the brain injuries and was still alive when you put bricks on his neck and jumped on it. You told your father he still wouldn't die and was making noises."
The court heard Ramsdale left the flat and bought items with Mr Wall's card and returned to drop further slabs on his body and attempt to set his body alight. Over the next few hours he continued to take drugs and stole from shops but was arrested from a Tesco store at 11pm that day.
"This was an appalling murder aggravated by the earlier robbery," Judge Jameson said.
He handed Ramsdale a life sentence with a minimum term of 33 years, minus the time he has already spent on remand. After the minimum term, he will go before the Parole Board who will determine if he is safe to release.
Following the sentencing, Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Suzanne Hall of West Yorkshire Police, said: “Ramsdale murdered Bradley in appalling circumstances and used a sickening level of violence against him after only having met him for the first time just shortly before his death.
“What caused him to launch such a brutal attack on him remains unclear, and his account of what happened has been shown to be completely unreliable. Bradley was known to use drugs and sadly that appears to have been what brought him into contact with Ramsdale on the night he was murdered. Regardless of those circumstances, there can be absolutely no justification for what happened to him.
“Taking his life was totally unnecessary, and the horrific circumstances in which the murder occurred tells us all we need to know about the utter depravity of Ramsdale.
“Bradley’s family have been left completely devastated at his death in such sudden and violent circumstances and we hope it will give them at least some degree of comfort to know that the person responsible has had to answer for their actions.”
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