Latest news with #BillyRipley
BBC News
23-05-2025
- BBC News
Teen sentenced to eight years for Hailsham stabbing of Billy Ripley
A 17-year-old has been sentenced to eight years in prison for stabbing a man with a blow that "penetrated his heart" in an East Sussex town teenager can now be named as Rhys Hedges, who turns 18 in three days' time, after reporting restrictions were lifted by the judge.A jury at Lewes Crown Court previously cleared him of murder but found him guilty of manslaughter after he said he stabbed 20-year-old Billy Ripley in self-defence in were called to the Vicarage Field area at about 18:20 BST on 29 August 2024 to reports that a man had been stabbed following an altercation. Mr Ripley was treated by paramedics but died at the scene from a single stab Honour Judge Christine Laing said the sentencing could not "begin to quantify the immeasurable loss and void" Hedges had left for those who loved Billy Ripley, and was not intended to. She told Hedges: "It is to punish you for your actions on that day."Billy was also regularly carrying a knife. "And knife is frankly an understatement, these were weapons of substantial size, machetes and zombie killer knives, fearsome weapons that will inevitably do dreadful damage if used against someone's body, even if that was not your intention."You could easily have got on your bike and cycled away if you were in fear of him as you claimed. "Rather, you ensured you attracted his attention by at the very least standing in his view on the edge of the road or by calling to him."The two of you then both came together in the entrance to the graveyard to have a knife fight, plain and simple." She added that there was no evidence that any more than one blow from his weapon struck Mr Ripley, but that blow had "penetrated his heart and caused him an un-survivable injury".The judge said "something drastic" had to be done to stop young men from having these weapons and carrying them in public. "No matter what your intention - or lack of one - when you use a blade of that size against someone, really serious harm or death is the almost inevitable outcome," she the trial the jury heard Mr Ripley had stabbed the boy twice in the arm, and the boy said he "moved back" and "tried to defend himself".
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Yahoo
Boy found guilty of town centre stabbing death
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been found guilty of killing a man in an East Sussex town centre. A jury at Lewes Crown Court cleared the teenager of murder but found him guilty of manslaughter after he said he stabbed 20-year-old Billy Ripley in self-defence in Hailsham. Officers were called to the Vicarage Field area at about 18:20 BST on 29 August 2024 to reports that a man had been stabbed following an altercation. Mr Ripley was treated by paramedics but died at the scene from a single stab wound. Prosecutor Ryan Richter told the court the teenager plunged a knife 8cm to 12cm (3.1 to 4.7 inches) into Mr Ripley's chest, slicing a rib and the breast bone. During the trial the jury heard Mr Ripley had stabbed the boy twice in the arm, and the boy said he "moved back" and "tried to defend himself". The teenager said: "I stabbed him once in the torso because I thought he was going to kill me. To defend myself. "His knife was bigger than my arm, it was huge." He added: "I thought he was going to kill me. "I was shocked, confused and I wanted to deter him." The boy told the jury he had "no issues" with Mr Ripley, and added he did not think he had killed Mr Ripley. A friend of Mr Ripley, 20-year-old Ella Doe, said she had been with Mr Ripley when he died. She said she had been sitting on a bench with him in the town centre, when the boy approached and told him to "come round the corner". After which she said she heard shouting. "I stood up, then he [Mr Ripley] started walking with his hand on his chest saying 'call an ambulance, I've just been stabbed'," she said. "He had blood dripping all over his hand. He didn't want to show he was in pain. He started to panic a bit. "He went to walk. I went to see where he was going. I found him." Mr Ripley collapsed after being stabbed in the heart and died at the scene, despite members of the public and later paramedics trying to save him, the jury heard. The court was shown CCTV footage taken from town centre businesses showing the movements of the teenager and Mr Ripley, The 17-year-old was then seen leaving the scene and cycling away on his bike. The teenager is due to face sentencing on 23 May. Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. HM Courts & Tribunals Service
