Boy attacker had 'toxic home life', court told

An 11-year-old who tortured two young boys watched ultra-violent movies as part of a home life of “routine aggression, violence and chaos”, a judge in Britain heard today.

The court was told of the “toxic home life” of two brothers who were just 10 and 11 years old when they subjected two boys, aged nine and 11, to a 90-minute violent ordeal in Edlington, South Yorkshire.

A barrister outlined how one of the boys watched the gruesome 'Saw' movies when he was as young as 10 and was also familiar with the 'Chucky' films as well as pornography DVDs.

He said he also smoked cannabis from the age of nine and drank cider.

Sheffield Crown Court has already heard that the victims were strangled, smashed with bricks, forced to eat nettles, stripped and forced to perform sex acts on each other in April last year.

The elder boy was seriously injured when pieces of a ceramic sink were dropped on his head.

Today, a judge heard that the elder defendant said he attacked the youngsters because he was bored.

Peter Kelson QC, representing the elder brother, today discussed the brothers’ upbringings.

The hearing had to be suspended for a short time as the younger brother became visibly distressed – putting his head on the desk in front of him and sobbing - as Mr Kelson gave details of the boys’ home life.

Mr Kelson described how the boys’ mother told psychiatrists about years of domestic violence perpetrated by the boys’ father on her and her five sons.

Mr Kelson described one incident when her partner said he would “take a knife to her and slice her face to bits”.

He added: “These threats were made in front of the children.”

The barrister said his client’s upbringing could be summarised by a reference in one report to his “toxic home life”.

He said his client would drink cider, had 10 cigarettes a day and smoked cannabis grown on his father’s allotment from the age of nine.

Mr Kelson said he was providing the judge, Mr Justice Keith, with the plots of two of the 'Saw' movies, which include ultra-violent scenes of torture and characters who have to choose between hacking off their own limbs or dying.

Mr Kelson said: “These were DVDs that were shown to him and which he saw.

“I have included some plot summaries. They are extremely violent – extremely violent. He was a child, perhaps of 10.”

The judge said the youngster also watched some of the 'Chucky' movies – horror films about a murderous doll.

Mr Kelson described them as “slasher movies with a great deal of violence”.

The barrister said the youngster also had access to his father’s pornographic DVDs.

Mr Kelson said: “(The elder brother’s) family experience was characterised by routine aggression, violence and chaos.”

He accepted his client’s actions were grave. He said: “It was sadistic. It was torture.”

Earlier the court heard the elder brother was asked by police why he had attacked and injured the boys.

He replied: “Don’t know. ’Cos there were nowt to do.”

He told police that he had been bored.

Both boys told police their arms were aching following the attack and both claimed they would have continued if not for this.

During his interview, the older brother was asked how close he thought he and his brother had come to killing either or both of the boys.

He said perhaps eight or nine, on a scale of one to 10.

The judge was also told how, after the brothers left the scene of the attack, the elder victim told the younger boy “you go and I’ll just die here”.

The brothers, who are now aged 11 and 12, have admitted causing their victims grievous bodily harm with intent.

They denied a more serious charge of attempted murder but the prosecution accepted their pleas and said there would be no trial. Both pleaded guilty to robbing one of the boys of a mobile phone and the other of cash.

They admitted two counts of intentionally causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

The brothers also admitted causing another 11-year-old actual bodily harm a week before the young boys were attacked.

Today was the second day of a three-day sentencing exercise which is expected to conclude tomorrow.

Until the younger boy became distressed, the brothers sat quietly in the courtroom behind their barristers, separated by two care workers.

The younger defendant was wearing a blue shirt with no jacket and a dark tie. His brother was wearing a dark suit, a white shirt and a black tie.

The case was adjourned until tomorrow.