Boy, 15, who killed elderly dog walker may get longer behind bars as his seven-year sentence is reviewed

Daily Mail​

04-07-2025

The sentence handed to a teenage boy convicted of killing an 80-year-old man who was filmed being attacked, slapped in the face with a shoe and racially abused while walking his dog will be reviewed by the Court of Appeal.
Bhim Kohli called out for help when he was attacked in Franklin Park, Braunstone Town, near Leicester, on September 1 last year.
He died the next day with a spinal cord injury and fractured ribs.
Last month, Mr Justice Turner sentenced a boy, aged 15, who punched and kicked Mr Kohli, to seven years in custody, and a 13-year-old girl, who encouraged the attack by filming parts of it while laughing, to a three-year youth rehabilitation order.
Both children, who cannot be named because of their age, denied their crimes but were convicted by a jury at Leicester Crown Court.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said the case will be reviewed under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.
The spokesperson said in a statement: 'The Solicitor General, Lucy Rigby KC MP, was appalled by this violent, cowardly attack on an innocent man.
'She wishes to express her deepest sympathies to Bhim Kohli's friends and family at this difficult time.
A boy, 15, who punched and kicked Mr Kohli, was initially sentenced to seven years in custody, and a 13-year-old girl, who encouraged the attack received a three-year youth rehabilitation order.
'After undertaking a detailed review of the case, the Solicitor General concluded the sentence of the 15-year-old boy could be referred to the Court of Appeal.
'The court will determine if the sentence is increased or not.'
Mr Kohli's daughter spoke of feeling 'angry and disappointed', adding that she believes their sentences do not 'reflect the severity of the crime they committed'.
Ms Kohli said in an emotional statement after the hearing last month that her father's death had left a hole in the family.
'A hole that can never be filled because of the actions of two teenagers,' she said.
'I believe on that day the two teenagers made a choice; the boy chose to attack my dad and the girl chose to film him being attacked. They knew what they were doing.'
Ms Kohli added: 'They have taken a life. When they are released they still have their full lives ahead of them. They can rebuild their lives. We can't.'
She added that she felt that 'more could have been done to prevent my dad getting killed'.
'If police were able to have more visible patrols in the area following the previous reports of antisocial behaviour, then dad could still be alive today,' she said.
'We don't want any other family to endure the pain and heartbreak that we have of losing someone this way.'