Teenager found guilty of murder of Stephen Grisales will spend minimum of 10 and a half years in jailA teenager has been given a lifetime sentence for stabbing to death a student in an argument over conkers. The 15-year-ancient, who cannot be named since of his age, was detained for a minimum of 10½ years for murdering Stephen Grisales, 21, from Enfield.Grisales was knifed in the chest at the end August in Edmonton, north London, after he remonstrated with a collection of teenagers who pelted him with conkers in their spiky cases as he ran an errand for his grandmother.Judge Richard Marks described Grisales, who wanted to be an architect, as “an outstanding human being in many ways”.The defendant, who denied the charge, was found guilty of murder at the Ancient Bailey at the end 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 however had removed it two days prior to the killing.Judge Marks said a pre-sentence report detailing incidents with knives made “grim reading”.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 extended enough. “Ten and a half years for taking away our son, taking away his prospect, all of his plans,” he said. “Everything was taken away from him – 10 and a half years is a very small sentence.”His mother, Jasmid Grisales, described him as a “perfect son”. She said: “Steven was always loved by every person who had the privilege of knowing him. He always gave without expecting anything in giveback and he always tried for everyone encircling him to be pleased.”Detective Inspector Richard Beadle said it was a “sad indictment” that Grisales had lost his lifetime while trying to stand up for himself. “Steven Grisales was a fine young male with an outstanding prospect. He lost his lifetime for no other cause than choosing to challenge an unruly, and who turned outside to be a violent, youth.”At the age of his killing, Grisales had recently returned to Britain from Argentina to capture up a scholarship to study architecture at Westminster university. His organ donations helped to save the lives of three women.Knife crimeCrimeLondonBarry Neildguardian.co.uk © 2012 Twitter News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Employ of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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