We feel nothing but anger, says victim's daughter as teens sentenced for park killing

BBC News

05-06-2025

Update:
Date: 13:44 BST
Title: Events of park attack read out to court
Content: Katie ThompsonBBC News
The family of Mr Kohli are seated on the front row of the public gallery as they were during the trial. They are staring ahead at the wall in front of them as prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu is addressing the judge, detailing the events of that evening in Franklin Park on 2 September.
The boy in the dock is looking down, while the girl, who is seated with him with two security guards between them, is staring ahead into the court room.
Update:
Date: 13:40 BST
Title: Prosecutor says boy pushed, punched and kicked Kohli
Content: Dan MartinBBC News, Leicester
Prosecutor Harpreet Sandu is now addressing the judge.
He says the boy pushed, punched and kicked Mr Kohli, and did so out of anger.
"[The violence] was part of a seven-and-a-half minute period of continuing aggression," he said.
Mr Sandhu talks through video clips, including the moment the boy slapped Mr Kohli on the face with a slider shoe.
Mr Kohli suffered three broken ribs and other fractures but Mr Sandhu said the fatal injury was to his spinal cord caused by a spine fracture.
Update:
Date: 13:33 BST
Title: 'It feels like a railtrack I can't get off'
Content: Katie ThompsonBBC News
Continuing the statement while occasionally glancing over at the pair in the dock, Susan Kohli described how she feels like "I am on a railtrack that I can't get off, but I must
keep going on it".
She said she and her mother were always "looking over our shoulders when taking
Rocky for a walk after what happened to dad".
Ms Kohli went on to describe the toll taken on her own health in the wake of what happened to her father, saying she had taken early retirement and needed
professional support.
Update:
Date: 13:27 BST
Title: No reaction from teens to daughter's statement
Content: Navtej JohalMidlands correspondent
The boy and girl showed no emotion as the statement was read out by Susan Kohli.
Update:
Date: 13:24 BST
Title: 'We feel nothing but anger'
Content: Dan MartinBBC News, Leicester
Susan Kohli's statement goes on to to describe the trial process as "overwhelming" for her family as they "listened to the enormity of what happened, what dad was subjected to".
"We feel nothing but anger and disgust towards the boy and the girl," she said.
"The girl disgustingly videoed dad as he lay on his side after the attack.
"Dad passed away before our eyes surrounded by his family who all had tears in his eyes."
Susan thanked the community and said she had taken solace from hearing stories from other dog walkers who knew her father.
Update:
Date: 13:22 BST
Title: Court falls silent as victim impact statements start
Content: Katie ThompsonBBC News
A packed court 6 is silent as statements are being read out to the court. The public gallery is full of both family of the victim and the two defendants, while the judge and barristers are not wearing wigs and gowns, as is standard for a case involving youth defendants.
The daughter of Mr Kohli, Susan, has taken to the witness box to read hers out in person.
She says her dad was "the person who knitted our family together" and we feel his loss every second of every day…'Our house feels so empty without dad and will never be the same. Every time my mum opens the front door she thinks about what happened to her husband.'
Update:
Date: 13:17 BST
Title: Grandson's memories of his grandfather 'stained'
Content: Matt TaylorBBC News, Leicester
The hearing has started with victim impact statements being read to the court, including one written by Mr Kohli's grandson, Simranjit.
It said Mr Kohli was "the main reason I am what I am today. My life, my goals and my story revolve around him".
The statment added: "I used to have memories of me and my granddad joking as we walked Rocky [Mr Kohli's dog].
"But now they are stained by the memories of seeing him lying there in pain."
Update:
Date: 12:59 BST
Title: View from inside the courtroom
Content: Dan MartinBBC News, Leicester
There is quiet chatter in the court room as we await the start of the hearing.
Mr Kohli's wife Satinder and his daughter Susan are in the public gallery, along with other family members.
The press bench is full of reporters – the case having attracted both national and international media attention.
The boy and the girl are sitting in the dock, accompanied by two security guards, awaiting the arrival of the judge.
He is wearing a grey hoodie. She is in a black jumper and white shirt.
Update:
Date: 12:56 BST
Title: Why haven't Mr Kohli's killers been named?
Content: Dan MartinBBC News, Leicester
The boy and the girl were 14 and 12 respectively at the time of the attack on Mr Kohli.
Under the law, anyone under the age of 18, who is charged with a crime, is automatically given the protection of anonymity because of their age.
This meant they could not be named during the coverage of the trial.
Last month, trial judge Mr Justice Turner heard an application from the media to lift the pair's anonymity when they are sentenced.
However he ruled the automatic legal protection should remain in place.
Update:
Date: 12:50 BST
Title: Who was Bhim Kohli?
Content: Dan MartinBBC News, Leicester
Bhim Kohli was a retired businessman who Leicestershire Police
described as a 'much-loved loved family man' and 'a pillar of the community".
Mr Kohli's daughter, Susan Kohli, said he was a 'devoted life partner' to his
wife Satinder for 55 years.
The family had lived in Bramble Way, near where he was
fatally attacked, for 40 years.
Susan Kohli said her father was a "very active" man who had three allotment plots where he grew fruit and vegetables.
"He was an amazing man who loved life. He never took himself seriously. He was good fun to be around and very chatty," she said.
"He was the person who knitted our family together and we miss him every second of every day.'
Update:
Date: 12:47 BST
Title: What happened to Bhim Kohli?
Content: Dan MartinBBC News, Leicester
Prosecutors said Bhim Kohli was walking his dog Rocky in
Franklin Park, yards from his home in Bramble Way, Braunstone Town, on 1
September, 2024, when he had the 'misfortune' to encounter the defendants.
The trial heard the boy approached Mr Kohli, racially abused him and
slapped him in the face with a shoe while he was on his knees during the
"intense attack".
The jury heard the girl encouraged the violence and laughed
as she filmed the assault on her mobile phone.
Both then fled the scene.
Members of Mr Kohli's family went looking for him when he did not return home and found him on the ground, in the park, screaming in agony as paramedics treated him.
He told his daughter he had been punched in the face, kicked, and racially abused. He died from his injuries in hospital the following day.
His cause of death was given as a neck injury causing spinal cord damage, and he had a number of other injuries including fractured ribs.
Police launched a search for the attackers and arrested the boy who they found hiding in a bush near his home.
Officers later arrested the girl at her school and found video clips of the attack on her phone.
While in custody and awaiting trial, the boy wrote a letter to a professional working with him in which he said: "I accept I did it and I'm doing time, I'm just scared about how long I have to do."
He also said in the letter that his girlfriend had broken up with him and he had been "struggling with that", so he "needed anger etc releasing".
Update:
Date: 12:45 BST
Title: Welcome to our live updates
Content: Good afternoon and welcome to our coverage of the sentencing hearing for a 15-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl who were found guilty of manslaughter of Bhim Kohli, an 80-year-old man who was fatally attacked at a park in Leicestershire.