Teenagers convicted of killing dog-walking pensioner to be sentenced
The teenagers, who cannot be named because of their ages, were convicted of the manslaughter of Bhim Kohli at Leicester Crown Court in April
A 15-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl will be sentenced at Leicester Crown Court after being found guilty of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Kohli (Family handout/PA)
A 15-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl are to be sentenced for killing an elderly dog walker who died after being attacked in a Leicestershire park.
The teenagers, who cannot be named because of their ages, were unanimously convicted of manslaughter at Leicester Crown Court in April after facing trial over the death of 80-year-old Bhim Kohli, who was filmed being slapped in the face with a shoe while on his knees before his death.
The boy was cleared of murder by the jury.
Both will return to the same court on Thursday to be sentenced by Mr Justice Turner.
Mr Kohli had been walking his dog Rocky just yards away from his home at Franklin Park, Braunstone Town, near Leicester, on September 1 last year, when he was kicked and punched by the balaclava-clad boy.
He suffered a broken neck and fractured ribs, and had been racially abused, laughed at by the girl, and left on the ground before his children found him severely injured on that evening.
The grandfather died in hospital the next day.
In a letter written by the boy two months after the attack, he claimed to be suffering flashbacks and said 'I feel like my case is evil'.
The 15-year-old also wrote in the letter 'I accept I did it and I am doing time' and 'I kinda just needed anger etc releasing'.
The girl had filmed a series of video clips in which Mr Kohli was slapped with the shoe by the masked boy and another where the 80-year-old lay motionless on the ground.
She took a photograph of Mr Kohli on her phone the week before the alleged incident, but denied that she used this to 'target' him, the trial heard.
Police also recovered a video from her phone of a group of children 'confronting' an unknown man on a separate occasion, who was hit to the back of the head and called a 'P*** bastard' while she was heard laughing.
A 15-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl will be sentenced at Leicester Crown Court after being found guilty of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Kohli (Family handout/PA)
News in 90 Seconds - 5th June 2025
The boy told the jury during his trial he slapped Mr Kohli with his shoe out of 'instinct' after they had a tussle, which caused the elderly man to fall to his knees.
He admitted to pushing Mr Kohli over to 'defend' the girl, who claimed Mr Kohli came towards her with his arms raised in a 'slapping motion', but denied kicking or punching him.
Susan Kohli, Mr Kohli's daughter, said after the verdicts: 'My dad was brutally and cruelly taken away from us when walking our dog Rocky in the park close to our home.
'He was a devoted life partner to my mum for 55 years. He was a loving dad, grandad, brother and uncle, a retired businessman and a close friend to many, including people who lived in our local community.
'He was an amazing man who loved life. He never took himself seriously, he was good fun to be around and very chatty.'
The 15-year-old boy was remanded in custody after conviction while the 13-year-old girl was granted conditional bail.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
2 hours ago
- Sunday World
Hundreds of mourners pay respects to murdered farmer Mike Gaine ahead of funeral
Mr Gaine was cremated earlier this week, with his ashes reposing between 2pm and 7pm at Finnegan's funeral parlour Mourners at the removal of Mike Gaine in Kenmare, County Kerry on Friday. Photo: Don MacMonagle Hundreds of mourners turned out to pay their respects to murdered farmer Mike Gaine as his ashes lay reposing in Kenmare town today. Mr Gaine was cremated earlier this week, with his ashes reposing between 2pm and 7pm at Finnegan's funeral parlour. Queues of mourners, waiting to pay their respects to the 56-year-old farmer, began forming at 1.30pm. The late Mike Gaine The line eventually stretched back to the town centre, with mourners standing in the rain as they waited. Mr Gaine's wife Janice was driven to the door of the funeral home shortly before 2pm. She was led in through the door under a sea of umbrellas. Also there to greet mourners were Mr Gaine's two sisters, Catherine and Noreen and other extended family members. Tributes to Mr Gaine included a photo display depicting him in him in his rally car racing days, as well as photos of him with farm machinery and socialising with friends. Mourners at the removal of Mike Gaine in Kenmare, County Kerry on Friday. Photo: Don MacMonagle News in 90 Seconds - 6th June 2025 Outside the funeral home, in a nod to Mr Gaine's love of farming, was a red Fiat Tractor. Five rallycars, including Ford Escort MK2 the farmer used to compete in, were lined up in a nearby car park. A group of Mr Gaine's close friends at Killarney and District Motor Club (KDMC) spent last week restoring his old car ahead of his funeral tomorrow. The car will lead a procession around the town after the service as Mr Gaine's ashes are taken to their final resting place. Among the more well-known faces at the funeral home today were Sports pundit Pat Spillane and Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae. Mr Gaine's funeral mass will take place tomorrow at 10.30am in Holy Cross Church in Kenmare, according to a notice on His funeral mass will be livestreamed. Afterwards, Mr Gaine's rally car, carrying his ashes, will do a lap of honour around Kenmare town. Rally car divers from all over Ireland are expected to travel to the Kerry town to join in the procession. The notice said Mr Gaine, who went missing from his farm on March 20, will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by his heartbroken family members and friends in the farming and rallying communities. His final resting place is to be kept private. Mr Gaine's family has asked for family flowers only, with donations in lieu of flowers to Kerry Mountain Rescue and SARDA (Search and Rescue Dog Association). Both these organisations played a significant role in the search for Mr Gaine after he was first reported missing on March 21. The family thanked the public for their "support and understanding at this extremely difficult time". An extensive search for the Kerry farmer took place over eight weeks. The case was officially upgraded to from a missing persons probe to homicide just over a month ago. Mr Gaine's partial remains were found almost two weeks ago when his nephew and close friend were spreading slurry. DNA confirmed the partial remains as those of Mr Gaine. The farm was immediately closed off and declared a crime scene. Specialised garda units and the Defence Forces have spent the past two weeks on the farm just outside Kenmare searching for evidence in the ongoing murder investigation. A man was arrested and later released without charge in the case.
Sunday World
7 hours ago
- Sunday World
48 people arrested, 4 tonnes of cocaine seized as part of Spanish drugs investigation
The gang are accused of smuggling cocaine from South America using a 'sophisticated maritime infrastructure'. Almost 4 tonnes of cocaine were seized 48 people have been arrested as part of a major operation against the largest drug trafficking gang in the Canaries. 29 homes were searched across the Canary Islands, with 3.8 tonnes of cocaine seized. 6 properties, 69 vehicles, including 19 boats and speedboats, and €100,000 in cash were seized. Almost 4 tonnes of cocaine were seized News in 90 Seconds - 6th June 2025 The operation came following months of investigation into the network, who introduced cocaine from South America to the European Union by using a 'sophisticated maritime infrastructure'. The gang owned 11 speedboats that were used repeatedly, departing from strategic points in the Atlantic Ocean to a mother ship transporting the cocaine. After loading the drugs onto the speedboats, the suspects dropped them off in the Canary Islands, ready for distribution. The gang used satellite terminals, hard-to-trace phones and a coded language to as part of a 'complex' encrypted communications system to evade police. The investigation was carried out by police from Portugal, Colombia, the UK and the USA. Europol also assisted in the investigation, providing analytical and financial support.
Sunday World
7 hours ago
- Sunday World
Irish woman who accused Madeleine McCann suspect of rape says he could've been stopped
Hazel Behan accused Christian Brueckner of raping her at her home in Portugal three years before the tot vanished An Irish woman who accused Madeleine McCann's suspected killer of rape has says he could of been stopped. Hazel Behan accused Christian Brueckner of raping her at her home in Portugal in 2004. He went on trial in 2020, accused of raping the Dublin woman and a number of other women, but was aquitted. She has now said he could have been stopped from attacking other women, and potentially kidnapping and murdering the British tot in 2007. 'I feel that those who were in a position and mandated a position to protect and serve and do their job didn't,' Behan told The State of Us Podcast hosts Tara Mills and Declan Harvey. Hazel Behan at home in Mullingar. Photo: Steve Humphreys 'It also places a huge amount of guilt in me because even though I know I couldn't have done anything more… it doesn't stop the guilt that I have. 'If I had shouted louder, that if I had made more of a fuss at the time, all of these things may not have happened to other people,' she confessed. 'I carry that because of them not doing their job, and that really, really upsets me. 'Like to a point that I feel that they need to be called out for that. 'I don't think all these years later I should be doing all, having to go through all this again because of the ineptitude of a police force.' 'There's people like me and other victims who believe they're victims of Christian Bruckner who have suffered as a result.' It comes as German police began fresh searches in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in connection with the disappearance of 3-year-old Madeline McCann. Search teams investigating Madeleine McCann's disappearance use a digger next to a derelict property close to Praia De Luz, Portugal. Photo: PA The search was reportedly prompted by the discovery of disturbing new evidence found on a hard drive hidden in Brueckner's 'secret lair'. Cops discovered a hard drive containing pictures at a disused factory in Neuwegersleben, Germany, which was purchased by Bruckner in 2008, just one year after the toddler vanished. Details of the find were reported by The Sun and Channel 4. The files were uncovered in 2016 when a dog ran onto the property and appeared to find a grave. When authorities dug, they discovered a deceased dog lying on top of a wallet containing six USB sticks and two memory cards, which reportedly contained disturbing materials. Following this, 100 cops launched a full-scale search, finding children's clothes and toys, as well as masks, chemicals and three black market guns. The sinister items also included stories allegedly written by the German national, one of which detailed the abuse of a four-year-old blonde girl. Missing Madeleine McCann and suspect Christian Brueckner News in 90 Seconds - 6th June 2025 Child abuse images, records of Skype conversations with paedophiles and 75 children's swimming costumes were also found, as well as a metal case of photographs depicting girls believed to be aged four and five. In 2020, Brueckner went on trial accused of five separate counts of rape and sexual assault which prosecutors allege he committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. One of these charges related to the alleged rape of Westmeath woman Hazel Behan after he broke into her apartment via the balcony while she was sleeping. A court heard that she was raped by him in June 2004 while working as a holiday rep in Portugal. He was acquitted of all charges, but the Irish woman has now lodged an application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) alleging inaction by Portuguese police in identifying and prosecuting Brueckner for her rape. Cops trying to find evidence of Brueckner's involvement in McCann's disappearance are in a race against time as he is expected to be released from prison in later this year. The German is serving time behind bars for the rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. Madeline McCann vanished from her family's holiday rental in Praia da Luz two years later in May 2007. Madeleine McCann has been missing since 2007 The tot slept in a bedroom with her two younger twin siblings as their parents dined at a nearby restaurant with their friends. When Madeline's mother, Kate, checked on her children at around 10 pm, Maddie was not there, and the alarm was raised. The case of the missing girl captivated the world, and continues to do so as no trace of the 3-year-old has ever been found, despite an international manhunt to find her. No one has ever been charged in connection with her disappearance. If you've been effected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact the Rape Crisis Centre on 1800 77 8888.
