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| Student's killer posed on website | Student's killer posed on website |
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| A teenager who posed on a MySpace page with a knife while he faced trial for murdering a university student has been jailed for life for the killing. | A teenager who posed on a MySpace page with a knife while he faced trial for murdering a university student has been jailed for life for the killing. |
| Joshua Williams, 15, was one of 10 people convicted at the Old Bailey over the fatal stabbing of Yasin Abdirahman in west London in September 2007. | |
| The 22-year-old was caught up in a gang revenge raid and stabbed in Southall. | |
| Andre Mason, 16, and Sheldon John-Lewis, 19, have also been handed life sentences for the murder. | Andre Mason, 16, and Sheldon John-Lewis, 19, have also been handed life sentences for the murder. |
| During the trial, it was discovered that Williams, who will serve a minimum term of 14 years, was showing off his knife on a MySpace page entitled "me, myself and my shank". | During the trial, it was discovered that Williams, who will serve a minimum term of 14 years, was showing off his knife on a MySpace page entitled "me, myself and my shank". |
| CONVICTION DETAILS Sheldon John-Lewis, 19, of no fixed address, guilty of murder - minimum 15 years imprisonmentJoshua Williams of Aylesbury, Bucks, found guilty of murder - a minimum 14 years imprisonmentAndre Mason, 16, of Osbourne Rd, Acton, found guilty of the murder of Yasin Abdirahman - minimum 13 years imprisonmentCarlos Cyrus, 14, of Goring Way, Greenford, found guilty of manslaughter - sentenced to seven years in jailRahin Rahimi, 17, of Hanbury Rd, Acton, found guilty of violent disorder and conspiracy to commit GBH - four years imprisonmentLamar McGregor, 15, of , Shepherds Bush Green found guilty of conspiracy to commit GBH - sentenced to a three-year supervision orderHassan Kamara, 19, of Wulfstan St, Shepherd's Bush, found guilty of violent disorder and conspiracy to commit GBH - four years imprisonmentDaniel Thomas, 17, of Tentelow Lane, Southall, found guilty of violent disorder and conspiracy to commit GBH - four years imprisonmentA 15-year-old youth of Luton, Beds, found guilty of violent disorder and conspiracy to commit GBH - a 12 month supervision orderA 14-year-old youthof Shepherd's Bush found guilty of violent disorder and conspiracy to commit GB - to be sentenced at a later date | CONVICTION DETAILS Sheldon John-Lewis, 19, of no fixed address, guilty of murder - minimum 15 years imprisonmentJoshua Williams of Aylesbury, Bucks, found guilty of murder - a minimum 14 years imprisonmentAndre Mason, 16, of Osbourne Rd, Acton, found guilty of the murder of Yasin Abdirahman - minimum 13 years imprisonmentCarlos Cyrus, 14, of Goring Way, Greenford, found guilty of manslaughter - sentenced to seven years in jailRahin Rahimi, 17, of Hanbury Rd, Acton, found guilty of violent disorder and conspiracy to commit GBH - four years imprisonmentLamar McGregor, 15, of , Shepherds Bush Green found guilty of conspiracy to commit GBH - sentenced to a three-year supervision orderHassan Kamara, 19, of Wulfstan St, Shepherd's Bush, found guilty of violent disorder and conspiracy to commit GBH - four years imprisonmentDaniel Thomas, 17, of Tentelow Lane, Southall, found guilty of violent disorder and conspiracy to commit GBH - four years imprisonmentA 15-year-old youth of Luton, Beds, found guilty of violent disorder and conspiracy to commit GBH - a 12 month supervision orderA 14-year-old youthof Shepherd's Bush found guilty of violent disorder and conspiracy to commit GB - to be sentenced at a later date |
| The court heard Williams was part of a gang of more than 20 youths from the Murder Dem Pussies (MDP) gang, some of them as young as 12, who spilled on to the streets from a bus. | The court heard Williams was part of a gang of more than 20 youths from the Murder Dem Pussies (MDP) gang, some of them as young as 12, who spilled on to the streets from a bus. |
| The gang were armed with sticks, broken bottles, and knives to avenge the theft of a mobile phone from one of them. | The gang were armed with sticks, broken bottles, and knives to avenge the theft of a mobile phone from one of them. |
| They blamed the theft on members of the Grit Set gang, which was based on the estate. | They blamed the theft on members of the Grit Set gang, which was based on the estate. |
| Mr Abdirahman happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when they arrived and was stabbed in the head. | Mr Abdirahman happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when they arrived and was stabbed in the head. |
| Mason, who picked up a crate to use against the victim, was told he must serve at least 13 years of his life term. | Mason, who picked up a crate to use against the victim, was told he must serve at least 13 years of his life term. |
| Lewis, who was told that he bore the brunt of the blame for leading younger gang members into the attack, was given life with at least 15 years. | Lewis, who was told that he bore the brunt of the blame for leading younger gang members into the attack, was given life with at least 15 years. |
| The judge said that the pharmacy student, whose family had fled from Somalia, led an "honest and purposeful" life, working for a degree to better support his mother, who has multiple sclerosis and is in a wheelchair. | The judge said that the pharmacy student, whose family had fled from Somalia, led an "honest and purposeful" life, working for a degree to better support his mother, who has multiple sclerosis and is in a wheelchair. |
| In a statement his family said: "The murder has ripped out the lights in our hearts. | In a statement his family said: "The murder has ripped out the lights in our hearts. |
| "No-one knows the anguish we go through when we remember what those animals did to Yasin, the pain we feel when we try to imagine what he must have felt as they attacked him, how afraid he must have felt and how he suffered." | "No-one knows the anguish we go through when we remember what those animals did to Yasin, the pain we feel when we try to imagine what he must have felt as they attacked him, how afraid he must have felt and how he suffered." |
| The verdict could only be reported after a second trial in which five other youths were cleared of involvement in the attack and jurors failed to reach a verdict on four others. | The verdict could only be reported after a second trial in which five other youths were cleared of involvement in the attack and jurors failed to reach a verdict on four others. |