Teenager who stabbed 16-year-old to death at Bath birthday house party jailed for life as two others also sentenced

3 May 2024, 19:38

Three teenagers have been jailed over the stabbing of a 16-year-old boy at a house party in Bath last year.

Mikey Roynon, 16, described as a promising young rapper, was fatally stabbed in the neck with a large knife during a house party in the Somerset city in June.

Shane Cunningham, also 16, was jailed for the murder of Mr Roynon on Friday and was sentenced to a minimum of 16 years in custody before he can be considered for parole.

Two of the murderer's friends, Cartel Bushnell and Leo Knight, were found guilty of Mikey's manslaughter, after a trial at Bristol Crown Court.

Amid the sentencing the judge warned of the dangers of a "plague of knife crime".

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Cunningham was given a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 16 years' detention, while Bushnell and Knight, both 16, received sentences of nine years and nine-and-a-half years youth detention respectively.

Sentencing the three, the judge said Mr Roynon's family had suffered a "loss which is unimaginable".

"Mikey had a bright musical career ahead of him and although he had faced a number of challenges in his short life, his future looked promising," the judge said.

"As I said at the trial, Bristol and its surrounding areas are in the middle of a plague of knife crime.

"The plague has continued since this trial finished. The lives of young boys who carry knives continue to be taken at the hands of other boys who carry knives.

"Those who carry knives are themselves the most likely to be killed with a knife. I should make it clear to you Shane, Cartel and Leo, that I do not sentence you on the basis that you have any responsibility for that appalling situation."

Passing sentence, the judge noted the defendants - who were allowed to be publically named despite being 16 - were each armed with "big knives" hidden in their clothing as they attended the party.

"How you each got hold of these horrendous and unlawful weapons and why you took them to the party will never be known," the judge said.

"As I have said, I do not think that you went to the party to fight with anyone. But it is clear that you took the weapons with you for fighting with and for injuring people, if any violence took place."

The party was attended by around 70 young people in Eastfield Avenue, Weston, when the stabbing took place.

"I am satisfied that many of the other boys, including some boys from Bristol, went to the party armed with substantial knives," the judge said.

"I am also sure that Mikey had a knife. Whether he took it with him to the party, or whether someone gave it to him, cannot be known."

The judge said the three defendants had their knives out, which may have been a "reaction" to the other group having weapons.

"It was also an offensive act - you were ready to fight and use your knives," he said. "Mikey drew a knife and struck towards you, Cartel. It was at around this time that Shane stabbed Mikey in the neck.

"These were fast-moving events but the jury on their verdicts rejected your cases that there was any element of self-defence in what each of you did."

Mikey was left bleeding heavily from a wound to his neck and collapsed on the driveway of the venue. Police, paramedics and doctors were quickly at the scene but could not save Mikey's life.

The defendants, all from Devizes, Wiltshire, left the scene and later disposed of their weapons. Two were recovered by the police.

They all denied a charge of murder. Cunningham was found guilty, while Bushnell and Knight were acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter.

Cunningham and Bushnell had pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article, which Knight was convicted of after trial.

In victim impact statements, Mikey's mother, Hayley Ryall, said "my life changed forever" the day her son died.

"Every morning I wake up and it hurts as much as the last morning," she said.

"I keep having awful dreams that Mikey is lost and I'm looking for him, but even the awful dreams are better than waking up to reality. At least in my dreams he is somewhere, whereas in reality he is gone."

She added: "Life will not be normal again."

Mikey's father, Michael Roynon, described the day of his son's death as a "living nightmare".

"Never would I imagine when I last said goodbye to him, it would be the last time I would see him alive," he said. "I just feel so tortured from the loss of my boy.

"Nothing will bring Mikey back and as a dad losing my only son, I feel like I have a life sentence and will have to live with this forever.

"I can only hope that as time goes on, I feel less wounded and can find a way to rebuild my heart and life which has been shattered by Mikey's death."