'Family impact statements are heartbreaking': A court reporter's take on covering knife crime cases

As a journalist of three decades' standing, I am well used to hearing about bad behaviour and misery of all descriptions in and outside of the criminal justice system.

In recent years I have been covering the region’s courts almost daily at the Express & Star and one cannot fail to notice the spike in the number of knife murders being dealt with by police forces across the Midlands.

Killings whether blamed on drug dealing or domestic violence has always been there, but with the rise of county lines has come a rise in the number of young men and boys walking on the streets armed with lock knives, machetes and swords.

Every case is a tragedy and every death leaves both the victim’s and the offender’s families completely devastated. Nobody wins. The defendants are almost always convicted of some offence or other and put behind bars for a very long time. Sometimes juries are not convinced there was a murder committed and opt for the alternative, less serious charge of manslaughter.

Either way it is always heartbreaking to listen to the victim impact statements read aloud as part of the inevitable sentencing process when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty.

This is the part of the proceedings that can most tug at the heartstrings, to see a mother or sibling bravely step into the witness box to face the person who plunged a knife into their loved one to explain what that lost life meant to them.

This was painfully laid bare last month at the close of the murder trial of 17-year-olds Prabjeet Veadhesa and Sukhman Shergill who stabbed to death their schoolmate 16-year-old Ronan Kanda in a tragic case of mistaken identity. It is that case that has led the family to launch a petition calling for ‘Ronan’s Law’ – the outlawing of the sale of all types of zombie knives and machetes, the kind that were used to kill their son.

Veadhesa and Shergill were driven by a friend around the streets of Lanesfield, in Wolverhampton, on June 29 last year in search of an entirely different 16-year-old, who owed them money, when they came across defenceless and completely innocent Ronan in front of them. Masked Veadhesa struck him from behind with a sword purchased over the internet. He was accompanied by Shergill who was also armed.

At the sentencing Ronan’s family arrived at court wearing black t-shirts featuring his photo and the printed words ‘Justice for Ronan’ . There they vented the full force of their anger at the pair, revealing that one of them had even visited their home and that Ronan had let Prabjeet use his PlayStation account.

His sister Nikita shouted at them calling them “monsters”. She asked them: “Prabjeet and Sukhman, when you realised that you’d stabbed the wrong person why didn’t you call for an ambulance?

“You went home and ordered a takeaway pizza.”

Ronan’s mother Pooja and father Chander spoke of their feelings at length at the hearing. I feared that the judge, as I’d seen in other cases, would encourage them to be brief. I looked upwards to survey Mr Justice Aklaq Choudhury’s reaction, but he did not interrupt, allowing them to speak freely.

And they let it all out in Courtroom Seven on the upper floor at Wolverhampton Crown Court, laying bare highly personal details of their crumbled home life and marriage.

Mrs Kanda wept loudly, releasing her pent-up emotions.

Turning to her left and looking across the courtroom at them sitting in the dock, she said: “My son was murdered by so-called friends.”

She spoke of the “psychological torture” and said she struggled to comprehend what the defendants did to Ronan.

“I get anxiety attacks. I cannot sleep. I can still see him bleeding in the road. I hear his voice asking for help,” she said.

This was in reference to the attack being captured on ring doorbells. The recording was a key piece of evidence against the defendants and was played to the jury over and over again.

Ronan was completely oblivious to the presence of his attackers as he was listening to music on his headphones. Feeling the blows and utterly defenceless he turned to look at what was happening and his screams of “oh my God” and “oh no, help” were recorded.

The young Liverpool fan was pronounced dead in the street yards from his Mount Road home at 8.30pm. He suffered two stab wounds which penetrated his heart and side. Despite the best efforts of the emergency services he sadly died at the scene.

Veadhesa, from Cairn Drive, Bentley, in Walsall, and Shergill, from Bewley Road, Short Heath, in Willenhall, both 17, were found guilty of Ronan’s murder at Wolverhampton Crown Court after a jury trial.

Giving them life sentences of a combined 34 years in custody for the murder, Mr Justice Choudhury also lifted the age ban on identifying them following an application from the Express & Star. This reporter gave a huge sigh of relief as applications to lift reporting restrictions are not taken lightly by judges.

Restrictions are rarely lifted for naming any defendant aged under 18 and with good reason. But in this case the judge agreed with both the press and the prosecutors that it was in the public interest to do so.

Two other older defendants were completely cleared of Ronan’s murder by the jury.

As a court reporter, while there is an important job to do in navigating the court process, for me it is mainly about relaying to readers what the prosecutors claim happened to the victim, the eyewitnesses, the defendant’s account and reporting on as much of the evidence being put to the jury as possible.

Then there is calling into account the authorities responsible for upholding law and order in our communities. Resident Judge at Wolverhampton Combined Court, Judge Michael Chambers KC has presided over most of the murders involving knives in the Black Country area in the last few years. He demanded answers from West Midlands Police after a string of wounding and murder cases involving knives impacting Oldbury and Smethwick in particular in 2021 and 2022.

Operational Lead for Serious Youth Violence and Knife Crime Superintendent Gareth Morris told the judge: “Knife crime has a significant impact on communities and young people. It is well known there are a number of factors that drive serious youth violence. These include trauma, exclusion from education, child poverty and poor local infrastructure/support.

“Levels of serious violence between young people are a serious concern. National trends have resulted in a dedicated Serious Violence Fund and Home Office team to support key forces, including West Midlands Police.”

He added that tackling knife crime was priority for the force.