I don't understand how this is manslaughter and not murder

[lifeonmars100]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/apr/08/two-teenagers-found-guilty- by of-manslaughter-of-80-year-old-man-in-leicestershire-park?CMP=sharebtnurl

I am sure I am not alone in being disturbed and upset by this awful case. I can't stop thinking about this poor man, setting off for a stroll with his dog and then to be the victim of a vicious unprovoked attack of such severity that he died as a result of it. I can't understand how the boy was found guilty of manslaughter and not murder. I appreciate that a murder conviction hinges on "intent" i.e what was in the defendant's mind when they committed the offence and of course I was not in court to hear all the evidence but as a layperson I just don't get it. Maybe things will be clearer when they are sentenced. I feel so sorry for the family, the details are so awful and will surely haunt them forever. The fact that the girl filmed the attack is truly sickening but seems par for the course these days. Mr Kohli must have been terrified and in so much pain, what a terrible end to his life

Yes well we have people on this thread who think it’s not to crime to tell people to commit arson so people die. If their young dc hear them complaining about those people being brought to justice, who knows how that will be reflected in their own behaviour.

Not to mention she had other pictures of violence on her phone.
Another parent who has no idea what their child is doing on the phone.
Very poor parenting.

I think that’s the difference between murder and pre-meditated murder.

Its not only about respect. Its about care for other human beings.

As for your point about intent, I believe the law is that if you intend harm to someone and assaut them, and they die as consequence, it is murder even if the death was not intended. An example was if somebody hit a hemophiliac intending to only hurt them, but as a result of their condition they died because of the assault, that would be murder, as the intent was to harm them. Lack of knowledge of their condition is no defence. The adage was or is "You take the victim as you find him".
To my mind these two callous little shits murdered this poor man.

This case is so deeply upsetting. My heart aches for this poor man and how terrified he must have felt on the end of such a savage attack - by children!!

I am disturbed by the increased callousness of these attacks. Children with zero empathy for suffering, let alone for the suffering they are inflicting.

Barely into teens, displaying frightening levels of aggression and hate should be of a huge concern to us all.

I don't know what is to become of society where this kind of violence is growing and spreading, but I really couldn't care less about the future wellbeing of this cruel, wicked pair.

And you notice there haven't been any riots people trying to burn down secondary schools. Almost like other white teenagers aren't held responsible for what this horrendous pair did.

How ghastly, such an evil thing to do to a gentle old man. The two little *** that did it will have ruined their own lives too and they will in time deeply regret it. I waste no sympathy on them though, my heart aches for the man’s poor family.

You'd execute children?

It is hard to understand how children can commit such an evil act. My only theory is the parents belong to the far right and have programmed hatred of ethnic minorities/immigrants into their children.

It is important to note that crimes like this are extreme and not representitive of society in general. If this article is accurate, crime, including violent crime, has decreased significantly over the last three decades which is in contradiction to public perception. The media can give a false impression through sensationalist reporting, perception is not fact.

Is a 13 year old girl a major flight risk? Is she a risk to other members of the public? I suspect the answer to both these questions is no which would explain why she is on bail.

Perhaps if adults would stop tweeting incitement to violence against immigrants, children wouldn't get the idea that it's ok to hurt a "foreign-looking" person.

I am no expert here but I'd imagine she's in a secure social services unit for adolescents. Clearly whoever she was living with before had no control of what she was doing and was utterly failing to provide her with good guidance and role models.

Fucking little savages!!!

She might be at risk from a beating from an enraged family member or member of the public though

What a sickening read. That poor man and his poor family.

Young criminals often do get named, just not immediately.

The murderers of Brianna Ghey (both 15 when they committed the crime) weren't named at first but were named later when they were sentenced. 6-year old Alesha McPhail was raped and murdered in Bute by a 16-year old, again not named until after he was convicted.

Completely agree, there should be a harsher punishment one way or another. Just so sad and disgusting, why should this 80 year old man, who lived a long happy life have to die a horrific death because of 2 total losers. And in general it’s just scary how many psychopaths and attacks there are - what’s the world coming to?

sounds like she was inciting someone to commit violence against a random innocent person - that sounds like she’s a risk to the public to me.

He was so close to home! And was just doing something so normal walking his dog and then this happens! How they tried to make excuses to justify what had happened as well..
Senseless and vile.

For me it’s the other kids saying they left the park as thought he was going to do something violent to the man, and they didn’t want to be involved.

They didn’t try to stop him or call for help though ?

A colleague of mine was on a jury for a knife crime, young man killed another young man, went armed to his victims home, as part of a gang.

She told us she voted for manslaughter, as he was young and had his whole life ahead of him, and a murder charge wouldn't bring the victim back.

No regard for the victims family, society as a whole when the knife weilder got out in 10 years, or the deterant effect, but then she doesn't live in an area where young men are in gangs and carry knives, so she could 'be kind'.

Put me off juries to be honest.

That’s slightly incorrect - it’s intent to kill or to cause grievous bodily harm.

It is murder, and there isn't remorse. They are clearly more concerned about their freedom and what it means for them. Individuals that show this level of violence don't change over night because they've been arrested. They're guilty and their names should be out there. This poor lovely man, my heart breaks for his family. What world do we live in that people can be so cruel, so evil, nevermind children. One day they will he elderly and I hope if they make it to an old age, their crime haunts them every time they look in the mirror.

Edited to say, this was a vulnerable elderly man, who they knew wouldn't stand a chance. They had no regard for human life and didn't care if he lived or died. They took his life while laughing. It is murder. The case makes me feel sick.

I have some sympathy with your view. By your colleagues logic there is no point in having a judicial system because being convicted and sentenced doesn't undo any crime.

I met a young woman who had participated in an attack which killed someone when she was 15 or 16. The other participants were 3 boys, they were all convicted and given custodial sentences. 5 years after the offence she showed no remorse and still thought it was funny. I'm unconvinced about the possibility of rehabilitating offenders who commit crimes of extreme violence at a very young age.

How do you know they are white?