Acid victim’s family demand remorse
The family of an acid attack victim have demanded the culprit express remorse as he was jailed for 17 years in what prosecutors say is the UK’S first acid killing. Xeneral Webster, 19, was sentenced at Reading Crown Court after admitting the manslaughter of Joanna Rand, 47, last June, when the corrosive substance he was carrying as a weapon was knocked from his hand. The victim’s sisters faced Webster in court and said “we hope you get locked up for a very long time”.
THE family of an acid attack victim have demanded that the culprit express remorse as he was jailed for 17 years in the first case of his kind.
Xeneral Webster was yesterday sentenced at Reading Crown Court after admitting the manslaughter of Joanna Rand in what prosecutors say is the first acid killing in the UK.
The 19-year-old pleaded guilty to causing the death of Ms Rand part-way through his trial in April.
Ms Rand, a 47-year-old nurse and mother of three, was covered in highstrength sulphuric acid on June 3 last year after the teenager had armed himself with the corrosive substance, which was then knocked from his hand by another male.
The substance covered Ms Rand’s hair and face as she sat on a bench in Frogmoor, High Wycombe, Bucks.
Prior to his sentencing, the hearing was told of the effect Ms Rand’s death has had on her family.
Lynn Ryan and Jacqueline Joiner, Ms Rand’s sisters, stood and looked at Webster directly as they told him what he had done to them.
Ms Joiner said: “Webster, you killed Jo, you took her away from us. What- ever sentence you get will never be enough to give us justice for the loss of Jo. We would hate for this to happen to another family.
“There has to be some deterrent for these evil acid attacks as people not only can be traumatised and disfigured for life, they can also die.
“Do you feel any remorse for what you did? You certainly seem to have no regard for anyone, and need to be held accountable for your actions on June 3 2017. For the safety of everyone and so you don’t do this again, we hope you get locked up for a very long time.” Mrs Ryan had earlier described Webster as “evil”. Unable to face the family of his victim, Webster looked away from the sisters as they read their statements to the court. Katie Pitwell, 18, Ms Rand’s daughter, has called for tougher sentences for acid attackers.
“The buying of acid needs to be restricted, but also, if someone is carrying it, there should be tougher sentences because most of the time they do intend to use it for harm,” she said.
The court heard that Ms Rand screamed in pain and ran to a nearby branch of KFC to splash water over herself when she was attacked.
She was treated and briefly released from hospital after suffering up to 5 per cent burns on her body. She died 11 days later from multiple organ failure after contracting septicaemia due to the burns.
Sentencing Webster, of Westway, west London, Judge Angela Morris said: “You and your actions bear the responsibility for her [Ms Rand’s] tragic demise.”
Webster also pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon, namely acid, and a charge of affray, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Ms Rand worked at the Sir Aubrey Ward care home in Marlow, Bucks, and was described as “hard-working and passionate about her job” in a tribute issued by her family in October.