Gang gets life for ‘£5 bet’ murder of disabled man

THE family of a disabled man who was murdered by a sadistic gang toasted their lengthy jail sentences with champagne on the court steps yesterday.

Vulnerable Brent Martin, 23, was punched, kicked, butted and stamped on by three youngsters whom he thought were his friends in an ordeal last August which stretched one-and-a-half miles across a Sunderland housing estate.

Judge John Milford jailed ringleader William Hughes, 22, for a minimum of 22 years, while accomplice Marcus Miller, 16, must spend at least 15 years behind bars and 17-year-old Stephen Bonallie at least 18.

His family cheered as the judge outlined the terms of their life sentences at Newcastle Crown Court.

Well-wishers popped champagne outside the court as family members wearing white T-shirts displaying their loved-one’s name and picture cheered.

His mother, Brenda, welcomed the sentence and praised the judge, adding: “The government needs to listen to murder victims’ families.”

Mr Martin was picked on by the drink-fuelled gang for “sport” after they bet each other to knock him out for £5, the court heard.

They chased their vulnerable victim around the Town End Farm estate, just three months after he was released from a psychiatric hospital where he had been staying due to his learning difficulties.

Hughes, a father of two from Washington Road, Sunderland, and Miller, from Baxter Road, pleaded guilty to murder at a previous hearing.

Bonallie, of Birtley Avenue, Sunderland, denied the charge but was convicted by a jury.

Judge John Milford lifted a ban on identifying the two teenage killers, who were guilty of “sadistic conduct on an extremely vulnerable victim”.

He said Mr Martin was a “gentle and caring person” who had a long history of mental health problems and learning difficulties.

When he left inpatient hospital treatment in May last year, he looked for friends his own age in the area.

“Sadly, he made poor choices,” said the judge.

The court heard Mr Martin wanted to befriend the gang but they turned on him savagely.

The judge was convinced Hughes, the eldest, was the ringleader.

He started the violence, told Bonallie to catch Mr Martin when he ran off at one point, and delivered the last blow when he kicked his victim, who was by this time lying unconscious on the floor.

Miller and Bonallie were trained boxers, who knew the force of their actions.

Even after being beaten, Mr Martin would shake hands with his attackers and say they were his friends.

But one final attack, involving being hit against a car so hard it dented, then a “volley-kick” from Hughes, proved fatal to Mr Martin.

Ben Nolan QC, defending Miller, who has an IQ of 79, blamed the availability of cheap alcohol, and said litres of vodka were being sold for £6 in Sunderland. Outside court, Det Supt Barbara Franklin, who led the inquiry, said she also believed alcohol was a factor.