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| Razvan Sirbu murder: Two men found guilty | Razvan Sirbu murder: Two men found guilty |
| (5 days later) | |
| Two men have been found guilty of murdering a Romanian rough sleeper who was attacked with a meat cleaver. | |
| Razvan Sirbu, 21, was found dead at the Loose Valley Conservation Area in Tovil, near Maidstone, Kent, last May, where he had been living in a tent. | Razvan Sirbu, 21, was found dead at the Loose Valley Conservation Area in Tovil, near Maidstone, Kent, last May, where he had been living in a tent. |
| Charlie White and Alex Macdonald, both 19, had denied murder but were convicted at Maidstone Crown Court. | Charlie White and Alex Macdonald, both 19, had denied murder but were convicted at Maidstone Crown Court. |
| Jurors found a third defendant, Jimmy Buckley, 20, who had been deemed unfit to plead, also "did the act of murder". | Jurors found a third defendant, Jimmy Buckley, 20, who had been deemed unfit to plead, also "did the act of murder". |
| A post-mortem examination showed Mr Sirbu died from blunt force trauma to the head and body. | A post-mortem examination showed Mr Sirbu died from blunt force trauma to the head and body. |
| The trial heard how White, of no fixed address, Macdonald, of Regency Place, Maidstone, and Buckley, of Capell Close, Coxheath, had been in the area on the night of 6 May because they planned to steal a sit-on lawn mower. | The trial heard how White, of no fixed address, Macdonald, of Regency Place, Maidstone, and Buckley, of Capell Close, Coxheath, had been in the area on the night of 6 May because they planned to steal a sit-on lawn mower. |
| They denied they had deliberately set out to rob Mr Sirbu, who had come to the UK from Romania in search of a better life. | They denied they had deliberately set out to rob Mr Sirbu, who had come to the UK from Romania in search of a better life. |
| They will be sentenced on Tuesday. | They will be sentenced on Tuesday. |
| Judge Jeremy Carey said: "This was a brutal and sustained attack on a defenceless young man who meant no harm and posed no threat. | Judge Jeremy Carey said: "This was a brutal and sustained attack on a defenceless young man who meant no harm and posed no threat. |
| "It was a shameful and senseless murder of mindless brutality." | "It was a shameful and senseless murder of mindless brutality." |
| In a victim impact statement, Mr Sirbu's mother Marinella Gafita said the death of her son had left her "crushed to the ground". | In a victim impact statement, Mr Sirbu's mother Marinella Gafita said the death of her son had left her "crushed to the ground". |
| "He came to the UK in the hope he would find himself a job and build a better future for himself. | "He came to the UK in the hope he would find himself a job and build a better future for himself. |
| "We thought it would be a new beginning full of hope but it's proven to be the end of my beloved son. | "We thought it would be a new beginning full of hope but it's proven to be the end of my beloved son. |
| "He was the apple of my eye and I would have given my life for him. | "He was the apple of my eye and I would have given my life for him. |
| "The death of my child broke my heart. I'm crushed to the ground, I feel destroyed." | "The death of my child broke my heart. I'm crushed to the ground, I feel destroyed." |
| His grandmother, who brought him up as a child, told BBC South East she had been consumed with grief since his death. | His grandmother, who brought him up as a child, told BBC South East she had been consumed with grief since his death. |
| Angela Gafita said nine months before he was killed he had completed a college diploma in cookery. | Angela Gafita said nine months before he was killed he had completed a college diploma in cookery. |
| "He went to work in the UK to achieve something, but I never thought for a second he'd never come home, that I would never see him again. | "He went to work in the UK to achieve something, but I never thought for a second he'd never come home, that I would never see him again. |
| "My heart is shattered, everything is gone," she said. | "My heart is shattered, everything is gone," she said. |