Shane Mayer: Sword murderer locked up for life for Darlaston stabbing

Ramani Sanderson, 20, stabbed Shane Mayer multiple times outside Gabba's Bar in Forge Road, Darlaston, on July 24, 2019.

The 21-year-old victim, from Wolverhampton, was taken to hospital and had his left leg amputated but never regained consciousness and his life support machine was turned off three days after the attack.

Sanderson, who was found guilty of murder after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, had repeatedly stabbed Mr Mayer in the groin with a two-foot long sword.

Co-defendants Kamron Reid, 20 and from Bloxwich, and Joseph Till, 21 and from Willenhall, were cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter by jurors. They were both jailed for five years.

A fourth man, Lewis Green, 21, from Darlaston, was cleared of murder by jurors. He admitted a charge of possessing an offensive weapon and was handed three months in custody at an earlier hearing, but he had already spent almost a year on remand and so walked free.

Sentencing Sanderson to life in prison, Judge Simon Drew told him: "No sentence that I can impose can bring Shane Mayer back to life. What I must do is pass a sentence that shows both justice and mercy whilst bearing in mind the sentence of murder is fixed by law, and due to your age it must be custody for life."

Sanderson, 20, of Walsham Road, near Peckham, London, must serve a minimum term of 23 years and 329 days, taking into account the 401 days he has already spent in custody.

Sanderson was also sentenced for a separate attack where he attacked a taxi driver and struck him on the head with a knife around 10 to 12 inches long in April 2019.

He was given six years for wounding with intent and 18 months for possession of a pointed or bladed article. He was also given 18 months for possession of a bladed article relating to the murder of Mr Mayer.

However all sentences will run concurrently.

His defence barrister Mr Michael Duck QC had denied the prosecution's claim the attack was pre-mediated, saying Sanderson was a "young man who got himself embroiled in gang culture" and it was a demonstration of his "immaturity" that he has chosen to "settle matters by way of a confrontation".

Mr Paul Lewis QC, defending Reid, said he had inflicted no violence himself and only seen the weapon Sanderson was carrying seconds before the violence erupted.

Reid, 20, of Herberts Park Road, had previously been diagnosed with ADHD in December 2014 and suffered from anxiety and was a "polite, well mannered, helpful" and kid young man.

Mr Peter Doyle, defending Till, said the 21-year-old had a positive work ethic and was "respectful", "courteous", a "fundamentally decent chap" and the offence was "out of character".

Judge Drew said they had "encouraged or assisted" Sanderson to engage in a street fight late at night whilst in public, but the nature of the offences had been "out of character" for both of the men.

Reid, 20, Herberts Park Road in Bloxwich, was sentenced to five years in a Young Offenders Institution (YOI) for manslaughter while Till, 21, of Summer Street, Willenhall, was jailed for five years.

Angela Millington, of West Midlands CPS, said: "These violent attacks with blades robbed Shane Mayer’s family of a much-loved son and brother and left a taxi driver with a head wound. Today’s sentences reflect the tragic loss of Shane’s life and Sanderson’s choice to carry and use weapons. We send our deepest condolences to Shane’s family and friends."