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Teenage killer sentence increased Teenage killer sentence increased
(10 minutes later)
The teenage killer of schoolboy Joe Geeling has had his sentence increased from 12 years to 15.The teenage killer of schoolboy Joe Geeling has had his sentence increased from 12 years to 15.
Michael Hamer, 15, repeatedly stabbed 11-year-old Joe before dumping his body in a park in Greater Manchester in March last year. Michael Hamer, 15, repeatedly beat and stabbed 11-year-old Joe before dumping his body in a Greater Manchester park last March.
Hamer was jailed for life for murder with a minimum term of 12 years. Hamer will now serve a minimum of 15 years of his life sentence for murder, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
At the Court of Appeal, the minimum term was increased by three years, after the Attorney General argued the initial sentence was too lenient. Joe's father, Tom Geeling, said the decision was "a victory for common sense".
At his trial, Manchester Crown Court was told that Hamer lured Joe back to his house where he fatally beat him 16 times with a frying pan, before dumping his body. "At long last we feel we have achieved a more just sentence for our son's killer, he added.
After the attack, Hamer dragged Joe's body downstairs, put it in a wheelie bin and took the bin to the park, where he hid it. "Michael Hamer will still be a relatively young man when he is released from prison, but our personal loss will remain forever.
The appeal decision was made by Sir Igor Judge, Mr Justice Gray and Mr Justice Henriques, sitting in London, following submissions by Lord Goldsmith QC. "However, we feel this judgement sets an appropriate sentence and is a victory for common sense. Hopefully we can now draw a line under this side of events and try again to move on".
Sir Igor said the Attorney General's case "succeeds" and that "in place of a 12-year minimum term, there will be substituted a period of 15 years". At his trial, Manchester Crown Court was told that Hamer lured Joe back to his house where he beat him with a frying pan before stabbing him to death.
After the attack, he dragged Joe's body downstairs, put it in a wheelie bin and took the bin to the park, where he hid it.
Hamer's minimum term was initially set at 12 yearsHamer's minimum term was initially set at 12 years
Tom and Gwen Geeling, Joe's parents, had said Hamer's sentence was too short. The appeal decision was made by Sir Igor Judge, Mr Justice Gray and Mr Justice Henriques, sitting in London, following submissions by the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith QC, who argued that the initial sentence was too lenient.
Sir Igor said it was a "fraught, worrying case".
He said the aggravating factors of the case included the "deliberate selection" of Joe, the sustained violence and the "calm efforts of concealment" by Hamer which "represent a formidable level of culpability and seriousness."
A search was launched for Joe, a cystic fibrosis sufferer, after he failed to return home from St Gabriel's High School in Bury on the day he died.A search was launched for Joe, a cystic fibrosis sufferer, after he failed to return home from St Gabriel's High School in Bury on the day he died.
His body was found hidden under debris in a gulley in Whitehead Park the next day.His body was found hidden under debris in a gulley in Whitehead Park the next day.
The court heard that the killing was probably triggered by Joe's rejection of a sexual advance by Hamer.The court heard that the killing was probably triggered by Joe's rejection of a sexual advance by Hamer.