Judge: Why was boy who stabbed pupil to death at school able to buy knife online? 16-year-old killer given nine-year jail sentence
- Bailey Gwynne, 16, was stabbed at Cults Academy in Aberdeen last year
- A 16-year-old schoolboy was convicted of culpable homicide a month ago
- He was also found guilty of having a knife and knuckledusters at school
- The youth had admitted stabbing Bailey but denied he'd committed murder
- Bailey suffered major loss of blood after single stab wound to the heart
- A fight broke out after Bailey had refused to give his attacker a biscuit
- Boy bought knife online to conceal his age and hid purchase from mother
Bailey Gwynne, 16, died after suffering a fatal knife wound to the heart during a fight at Cults Academy in Aberdeen last October
A teenager has been locked up for nine years for stabbing a school pupil to death during a 'trivial' row.
Bailey Gwynne, 16, died from a knife wound to the chest at Cults Academy in Aberdeen on October 28 last year.
A 16-year-old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of culpable homicide last month after a jury at the High Court in Aberdeen ruled against a charge of murder following a five-day trial.
He was also found guilty of two other charges of having a knife and knuckledusters at the school.
At the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday, judge Lady Stacey ordered the killer to be detained for nine years.
She also ordered the boy to be supervised for two years following his release from custody.
Passing sentence, Lady Stacey told the teenager: 'If you had not carried a knife, the exchange of insults between you and Bailey Gwynne would have led at worst to a fist fight, and certainly not loss of life.'
The judge also told him: 'Nothing that I can say nor any sentence that I impose will do anything to lessen the grief that Bailey Gwynne's family and friends feel.
'The shock of the death at such a young age was felt in the wider community; nothing I can say or do can alleviate that.'
The judge's sentence means the killer will serve nine years in custody - eight for culpable homicide and one for carrying weapons. He will then be supervised for a further two years on release.
The youth admitted fatally stabbing Bailey but had denied murder.
A jury at the High Court in Aberdeen took less than two hours to convict him of the lesser charge of culpable homicide last month.
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Kate Gwynne, mother of murdered Aberdeen school boy Bailey Gwynne, and her partner John Henderson leave Edinburgh High Court after the sentencing of her son's killer
The teenager found guilty of killing Bailey has been locked up for nine years for stabbing the school pupil to death during a 'trivial' row
Before sentencing, the judge heard the youth realised the impact of what he had done and was being treated for symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder including nightmares, anxiety and depression.
Mr Duguid told the judge that his client was ;immature; and that he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and received medication for depression and nightmares.
'He genuinely is affected by these events in quite a profound way,' added Mr Duguid. 'He recognises that he has taken someone's life and he feels very profoundly sorry about that.'
Mr Duguid said the 'naive' youth who thought it would make him look cool to carry a knife would have to live with the 'flawed' decision for the rest of his life.
Bailey Gwynne, 16, died from a knife wound to the chest at Cults Academy in Aberdeen on October 28 last year
Bailey's mother Kate Gwynne and partner John Henderson are followed out of the court yesterday by Bailey's grandparents
He said: 'This case has tragedy written right over it.
'Going forward, there's a very limited future for him - following his release from prison, he will return to the area where this crime was committed as his family and support network are there.
'He himself recognises that there won't be too many employers who would be willing to give somebody who has taken a person's life a job.'
During evidence, it emerged that Bailey - a hard-working fifth year pupil with four young brothers - suffered a major loss of blood after receiving the single stab wound to the heart.
The court heard that on the day he was stabbed, Bailey had missed out on a lunchtime trip to the local supermarket as his friends forgot to tell him about the plan.
Over the course of the five-day trial in March it was said that Bailey had refused to give his attacker a biscuit, saying 'you don't want to get any fatter'.
Following last month's trial, Ms Gwynne thanked all those who provided support to the family, praising the efforts of police, family liaison officers and fiscal staff involved in the prosecution
The black bin where a knife with an 8.5cm blade was recovered in the investigation into Bailey's death
A 16-year-old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of the culpable homicide of Bailey, pictured, last month after a jury ruled against a charge of murder following a five-day trial
The teenager responded with a joke about Bailey's mother, before the pair started grappling.
The attacker then pulled a knife that he had bought from Amazon out of his pocket and stabbed Bailey to death.
Accounts of the fight differed between witnesses but the jury heard that Bailey, who was on his way out of the corridor, turned round and squared up to the youth after he made a comment about his mother.
They both were said to have thrown punches and two onlookers said Bailey had him in a headlock before he pulled out a knife.
Flowers outside Cults Academy in Aberdeen where 16 year old Bailey Gwynne died after being stabbed
A group of girls console each other as they lay flowers in memory of Bailey Gwynne outside the school gate
A post-mortem examination revealed he died as a result of a 'penetrating stab-force injury to the chest' which went directly into the heart.
The killer told police as he was handcuffed 'it was just a moment of anger'.
He later told officers: 'I didn't mean to but I stabbed him.'
On the evening of his death, a candlelit vigil was attended by hundreds from a community shocked to its core by what had happened in the corridor of one of Scotland's top state schools.
One message dedicated to the teenager who had often talked of becoming a Marine said, simply: 'Soldier on, soldier.'
In his speech to the jury, prosecutor Alex Prentice QC described the row as a 'silly, trivial fight between two school boys', but added: 'Bailey Gwynne had no chance.'
Defence QC Ian Duguid said the case centred around an incident which happened 'in the blink of an eye' within 30 seconds.
This moving handwritten note was left by one of Bailey's classmates, saying students were 'shocked'
Rest In Peace, Bailey: Tributes were paid as classmates and friends of Bailey Gwynne went to the school to pay their respects
The court heard the youth has no record of violent offending and the judge said she had taken this into account, along with his young age, when deciding his sentence.
But Lady Stacey said a social work report had deemed him a risk to others and she agreed.
She told him: 'You have shown that you were prepared to buy and receive a weapon, and then use it.
'You chose to buy weapons online so that you would not be asked for proof of age and you arranged to have them delivered in such a way so your mother would not know about them.'
The killer said he circumvented Amazon’s over-18 rules simply by getting the 3½in knife delivered to his mother’s garden shed. No one had to sign for it.
The trial had heard that a laptop used by the killer had revealed an Internet search for 'how to get rid of someone annoying'.
However, Police Scotland Computer expert Charles Bruce said that he didn't know what results the search brought up.
The boy also used the search expressions 'Aberdeen stabbings' and 'difference between a homicide and a murder'.
Another teenage witness also told the court that he had seen the killer with a knife 'maybe 25 times' before the fatal stabbing.
The accused admitted that he regularly carried it with him.
He also told detectives that he had brought knuckle dusters for £10 and the knife for £40 from Amazon.
When officers told him he was to be charged with the murder of Bailey, he broke down.
He told cops: 'But I tried to save him.'
Aberdeen City Council is to hold a review into Bailey's death to identify any lessons that can be learned from the fatal stabbing during what was described as a 'trivial' row.
Following the trial, Ms Gwynne thanked all those who provided support to the family, praising the efforts of police, family liaison officers and fiscal staff involved in the prosecution.
She said: 'We have appreciated greatly the support of all those around us and those close to us, whether it has been practical or emotional.
'We know that everyone around us has done their utmost for Bailey and we appreciate and greatly admire the fairness and integrity shown to all parties by the prosecuting counsel.
'We cannot praise highly enough the police, our lovely family liaison officers and the fiscal staff.'
Detective Superintendent David McLaren paid tribute to the family who attended the trial every day and sat through the most harrowing of evidence.
Hundreds of friends and fellow school pupils gathered to remember Bailey at the special church service
Around 400 of Bailey's friends and fellow school pupils gathered to remember him at Cults Parish Church
He said: 'Today won't bring their son back, the pain of not having Bailey around will last for a very long time. Throughout their ordeal they have conducted themselves with the utmost dignity and are a credit to themselves as a family.
'The death of Bailey Gwynne has had a massive impact on his family, friends, fellow pupils and the staff at Cults Academy.
'The details of the case have caused shock within the local community and further afield across the whole of the country.'
The case has caused an outcry over the availability of deadly weapons to children.
A Daily Mail investigation showed it was possible for a 13-year-old to go on Amazon and buy terrifying weapons such as the Ontario Bayonet with a 6in blade. Contrary to Amazon’s guidelines, the recipient was not required to sign for the weapon on delivery.
Amazon moved to ensure it would not sell knives to under-18s by joining a new Government scheme requiring retailers to obtain proof of the age of customers buying blades.
But the voluntary scheme, which forces the buyer to prove they are 18 either at the point of sale, collection or delivery, will depend on the vigilance of dozens of courier firms sub-contracted to deliver items.
Cults Academy, located in an affluent suburb of Aberdeen, is a six-year comprehensive school with about 1,050 pupils.
Former pupils include ex-Scotland rugby union captain Jason White, Sir Alex Ferguson's football manager son Darren, Olympic swimmer Robbie Renwick and Scotland footballer Shaun Maloney.
Cults Academy, located in an affluent suburb of Aberdeen, is a six-year comprehensive school with about 1,050 pupils
A police car passes floral tributes outside Cults Academy in Aberdeen shortly after a fight ended in the death of Bailey
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