Three teens jailed for killing musician

LONDON: Three teenagers have been locked up for killing a 15-year-old aspiring musician in a pre-planned gang attack.Tashaun Aird was knifed nine times in the chest and back after he and his friends fled through a Hackney park on the evening of May 1 last year.

Following an Old Bailey trial, a 16-year-old youth was found guilty of murdering Tashaun and wounding a 16-year-old boy with intent.Judge Angela Rafferty QC said he “showed no mercy” as she sentenced him to life with a minimum term of 17 years, with a further four years to run concurrently.

Romaine Williams-Reid, 18, who played a lesser role, was jailed for 12 years for manslaughter and two-and-a-half years, concurrent, for wounding.Another 16-year-old youth was jailed for 12 years for Tashaun’s manslaughter and four years, concurrent, for wounding with intent. The judge told the defendants: “A group of unarmed young people posing no threat whatsoever to you were attacked by you in the park.”

She said the “planned and targeted attack” was in full view of members of the public and involved the use of weapons including a Samurai sword and zombie knife.

Tashaun was said to have had a “passion for music” and his family only learned he had been accepted by a music college after his death.The judge said: “It may be that his music was somehow connected to this attack but it is unlikely we will ever truly know.”

Neither victim was connected with the targeted gang, she said, adding: “This was a terrible waste of a young life.”A fourth defendant, 16-year-old Caden Stewart, became unwell in custody and was transferred to hospital where he died on June 27, 20 days after he was charged with murder.