Batley murder: Five teenagers and man jailed for brutal killing of 20-year-old they chanced across in alleyway
Gang chased and cornered Bradley Gledhill before stabbing, stamping and kicking him to death
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Five teenagers and a 24-year-old have been jailed for a total of 81 years after they stabbed to death a complete stranger in an alleyway.
Bradley Gledhill, 20, was chased down the road before being knifed, kicked and stamped on during the horrifying attack in Batley, West Yorkshire.
Two of his friends were also stabbed during the incident – which started after the gang chanced across the three pals walking through an alleyway.
All six of the attackers – Usman Karolia, 20, of Lime Tree Avenue, Batley; Ahmed Karolia, 24, of Lime Tree Avenue, Batley; Raja Nawaz, 19, Longfield Road, Heckmondwike; Nabeel Naseer, 18, of Gordale Close, Dewsbury; Irfan Hussain, 17, of Church Walk, Batley; and Nikash Hussain, 17, of Low Road, Dewsbury – were convicted of his murder following a trial that lasted several weeks at Leeds Crown Court.
Handing them all life sentences, Mr Justice Kerr said: “You thought nothing of killing him in the open air, in the street, in public.”
And he added: “You thought nothing of the unending pain you would cause Bradley's family.”
The horror unfolded on at 10pm on 21 June last year, jurors were told.
As Mr Gledhill and his two friends, Kasey Hall and Joel Ramsden, entered the alley, they were approached by the six attackers who demanded to know what they were doing there.
As violence erupted, the three victims fled the scene but Mr Gledhill was cornered and caught in the town’s Park Croft cul-de-sac. He was held to the ground as his six killers took it in turns to stab, punch and stamp on him before leaving him bleeding to death the street.
So callous was the attack that not even the fact a young child happened to be in the same road deterred the gang, the court was told. In an audio clip played to jurors, they could later be heard bragging about what they had done.
Residents alerted by the commotion tried to save Mr Gledhill, the court was told, but he was pronounced dead at Leeds General Infirmary at 11.18pm.
In a statement read out after the sentencing, Mr Gledhill's mother, Kelly Hubbard, said her family has been handed a life sentence as they tried to come to terms with his loss.
The 42-year-old said that her son has been “robbed of his life and of a future” and that no mother should have to bury their child, adding: “It goes against human nature."
Karolia was sentenced to a minimum of 21 years in prison; Karolia to a minimum of 16 years; Nawaz, to a minimum of 12 years; Naseer and Irfan Hussain to a minimum of 11 years each; and Nikash Hussain to a minimum of 10 years.