Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Teens jailed over fatal stabbing of Mikey, 16, at house party
THREE teenagers have been jailed after they killed a boy at a birthday party in Bath. Mikey Roynon, from Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, was stabbed in the back of the neck with a zombie knife by Shane Cunningham in Eastfield Avenue in the Weston area of Bath on June 10, 2023 and died at the scene.
Cunningham was found guilty of murder while his two co-accused friends, Cartel Bushnell, aged 16 and from Dorset, and Leo Knight, aged 16 and from Wiltshire, were found guilty of manslaughter at Bristol Crown Court.
Mr Justice Saini lifted the reporting restrictions on the three boys during their sentencing at the same court yesterday afternoon. The three boys had travelled to the Bath party from Wiltshire.
Two admitted to bringing knives with them but the third denied it, but CCTV footage showed what detectives believe was a large knife down his trousers, casting doubt on his account.
Cunningham previously claimed he was acting in self-defence when he stabbed Mikey after claiming Mikey had swung a knife towards his friends in the garden of the property.
Mikey, known locally as a musician, bled heavily from the wound and collapsed on the driveway of the venue. Police, paramedics and doctors quickly arrived at the scene of the incident but could not save Mikey’s life. His injury was so serious that even immediate surgery would not have saved him.
The defendants meanwhile left the scene and later disposed of their weapons, and two were recovered by the police.
Hayley Ryall, Mikey Roynon’s mother, recalled in a moving victim impact statement the horrific impact of her son’s death. On the night of his death, she received 37 missed calls as she attended a work ball in Birmingham. When she found her phone, she heard Mikey had been stabbed and immediately drove three hours to the scene.
She said: “Every morning I wake up and it hurts as much as the last morning. I keep having awful dreams that Mikey is lost and I’m looking for him, but even the awful dreams are better than waking up to reality.
“At least in my dreams he is somewhere, whereas in reality he is gone.”
Mikey’s father, also called Michael, said he was heartbroken by the loss of his “buddy” and the aftermath of his death had been a “living nightmare”. He added: “I can only hope and as time goes on, I feel less wounded and can find a way to rebuild my heart and life which has been shattered.”
Sentencing the trio, Justice Saini commented there was a “plague” of knife crime in Bristol and surrounding area and spoke of the dangers of carrying knives. He also criticised the trio for possessing knives despite it being a birthday party with no immediate signs of a fight or disorder.
He told them: “On the day Mikey was killed, he was only 16. He was still a child. His family has suffered a loss that is unimaginable.
“They have conducted themselves with real dignity throughout the trial. During which they have had to live through Mikey’s final minutes of life on a repeated number of occasions.
“Mikey had a bright career ahead of him and although he faced a number of challenges in his short life, his future was promising.”
Cunningham was issued a life sentence and must spend 16 years in detention before he is considered for parole. Bushnell was sentenced to nine years and Knight was sentenced to nine years and six months. Detective Inspector Mark Newbury, the senior investigating officer, pictured left inset, said: “Mikey’s death sent shockwaves throughout his local community in Kingswood and the community of Bath where he was stabbed.
“The boys responsible for the dreadful attack travelled to the house
party it happened at from the Wiltshire area.
“Knife crime is a disease which leaves a horrifying and long-lasting mark on everyone it affects, it’s a national problem which isn’t limited to specific towns or cities and we must come together as a society to tackle it. Mikey’s mum has shown tremendous fortitude since losing her only child and I have the utmost respect for the bravery she has shown in talking openly about her grief and how she has highlighted the devastation knife crime causes.”