Life For 15-Year-Old Who Murdered Student In Conker Row

A 15-year-old boy has been given a life sentence for stabbing to death a student in an argument over conkers.

The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, was detained for a minimum of 10½ years for murdering Stephen Grisales, 21, from Enfield.

Grisales was knifed in the chest last August in Edmonton, north London, after he remonstrated with a group of teenagers who pelted him with conkers in their spiky cases as he ran an errand for his grandmother.

Grisales, who wanted to be an architect, was described as "an outstanding human being in many ways", by judge Richard Marks.

The defendant, who denied the charge, was found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey last month. Andrew Edis QC, prosecuting, told the trial: "This was a sudden, unnecessary killing as a response to a confrontation which took place in the street, which was about nothing very much. It was about throwing some conkers."

During the trial, it was revealed that the defendant had previously been in court for robbery and burglary. He had been ordered to wear an electronic monitoring tag but had removed it two days prior to the killing.

Speaking after the verdict, Grisales' parents said they had "no forgiveness" for their son's killer. His father, Andres Grisales, said the sentence was not long enough. "Ten and a half years for taking away our son, taking away his future, all of his plans," he said. "Everything was taken away from him – 10 and a half years is a very short sentence."

(H)