Flare killers jailed after dad’s death
TWO teenagers who killed a “superhero daddy” by throwing a lit flare into his car as he slept inside it have been jailed, as the family of one defendant hurled abuse at the sentencing judge.
Glossop father-of-three Vilson Meshi was asleep in the back of his Audi outside his former partner’s house, where he was to visit two of his children the next morning. The 31-year-old car wash boss died of inhaling fire fumes on February 27, 2016.
Keani Hobbs, 18, and a 16-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, were found guilty of manslaughter and theft of marine distress flares from a boat at an earlier trial, and were sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Judge Patricia Lynch said the teenagers’ actions had been “for fun”, and she jailed Hobbs for nine years and the younger co-defendant for six years.
As the 16-year-old’s lesser sentence was read out, there was shouts of abuse at the judge from the family of Hobbs.
Mr Meshi had parked his car in Basildon, Essex, where he had arranged to visit his children the next day, when the flare was thrown into his vehicle.
Judge Lynch said the defendants were “both equally culpable in this case”. She said the 16-year-old took Hobbs to the car “knowing what was going to be done”, and that Hobbs’s part was “igniting the flare and throwing it into the car”.
“Neither of you realised the man was going to die, but you must have realised it would have caused harm,” she said.
“Your actions were reckless, they were stupid and they were dangerous.”
Mr Meshi’s former partner, Michelle Mehtab, said in a statement that he was a “doting father” and regularly travelled to see their two children. “Nothing or no-one can replace their superhero daddy in their eyes,” she said.
Hobbs sobbed as she was led to the cells and shouted “I love you” to family in the public gallery.
Hobbs, of Stagden Cross, Pitsea, Essex, was jailed for nine years for manslaughter and 12 months concurrently for theft. The 16-year-old, of Camberwell, London, was jailed for six years for manslaughter, with 12 months to run concurrently for theft.
Charlie Sherrard, mitigating for the 16-year-old, said the he could not read or write properly and had been brought up in an environment where it was acceptable to “go round thieving”. Tony Badenoch, mitigating for Hobbs, said she had no previous convictions.