Feral knife-wielding boy, 13, who ran over and killed grandmother Marcia Grant, 60, his foster mother, with her own car, before telling police 'I got my first kill', is locked up for two years. But he will be released in 4 months due to time served.
A 13-year-old boy who killed a grandmother by mowing her down with her own car before telling cops 'I got my first kill' has been locked up for two years.
The knife-wielding youth - who can't be identified - previously admitted running over social worker Marcia Grant outside her Sheffield home, despite the frantic attempts of her husband, Delroy, to stop him.
Mrs Grant, who was hailed as a 'pillar of the community' was left with 'catastrophic injuries' following the incident in April - with the boy later saying to cops: 'Is she dead?' and 'looks like I got my first kill'.
When he was arrested after trying to run away from the police, the balaclava-clad youngster told a policewoman: 'I'm going to f****** kill your family, you b****, and I don't give a f***.
Speaking at Sheffield Crown Court today, judge Mrs Justice May told the youth: 'You made a bad choice. You knew that taking her car was wrong. You knew that taking her kitchen knife was wrong.'
Marcia Grant, pictured, died after her Honda Accord was reversed over her in April
The court previously heard Mrs Grant died on April 5 after suffering 'catastrophic injuries' when she was knocked to the ground and run over by her own car.
Police and paramedics were called to an incident outside Mrs Grant's house on Hemper Lane, Greenhill, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
CCTV footage later revealed how the youth had tried to take Marcia's car around 7pm in the evening, which led her to position herself behind the vehicle.
But he then reversed into her, which caused her to fall back and hit her head - and left her trapped under the vehicle.
The defendant, who was aged 12 at the time of the incident, was charged with murder in the days following Marcia's death, a charge he pleaded not guilty to.
Prosecutors subsequently accepted his guilty plea to the charge of causing death by dangerous driving during a hearing held on October 3 this year.
Judge Mrs Justice May added: 'Custody is the last resort for a child - but causing her death was so serious that it must be custody.'
Prosecutor Mark McKone KC told the court Marcia came out of their house after shouting: 'Someone's taken the car.'
Marcia's husband Delroy followed her out of the property and did not initially see where she was, before realising she was on the ground behind the car.
Floral tributes left outside a house on Hemper Lane, Greenhill, Sheffield, following the death
He realised the boy was in the car holding the steering wheel, and 'pleaded for him to stop the car'.
Mr Grant recalled saying not to put the car in gear, shouting that Marcia was behind it.The heartbroken husband desperately broke the car window to drag the youngster from behind the wheel.
The court heard he suffers from flashbacks and feels 'angry and guilty he couldn't save his wife'.
The stress and grief leaves him feeling exhausted and is constantly shaking, his daughter Gemma said in a statement.
Gemma said she too continues to be psychologically affected by Marcia's death, and regularly suffers from panic attacks in the night.
She told the court she will 'never forgive' the defendant, adding: 'The one person who could have guided us through this isn't here.
'Between us we have lost a wife, mother, carer, grandparent, best friend, life coach and guiding light.
'This loss is felt over and over again, when we encounter feelings of anger or depression, we turn to her for someone to talk to, but she isn't here.'
Her family released a statement after her death which said: 'Marcia was a warm, loving and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend and a pillar of her community.'
But, when the boy first appeared before court in April, prosecutor Gary Crothers told Sheffield Youth Court that police at the scene noted that youth chillingly said 'Is she dead?', 'Looks like I got my first kill'
Speaking today, Detective Chief Inspector Andrea Bowell, said: 'Since Marcia’s death, our thoughts have been with her family and friends after she was taken from them in the most difficult of circumstances.
'Marcia was a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend and a pillar of her community. Her death has had a profound effect on everyone who loved her.
'Although the criminal justice process has concluded today, I am aware that this brings no resolution or closure for Marcia’s family. They will continue to grieve their tremendous loss, and will do so for the rest of their lives.
'Losing someone so dearly loved at the hands of another is unbearable and our condolences remain with them at this incredibly difficult time. We ask that their privacy is respected.'
Behind this tragedy is an all too familiar narrative of broken Britain: feckless parents, allegations of domestic violence, and a boy that was feral in all but name.
He was 'an extremely challenging' boy, his barrister said. That was an understatement.
His father, according to neighbours at his previous home, had 'been in and out of jail all his life' – mainly for burglary and theft – and beat his mother who could not read or write. It was said neither of them exercised any parental control over their son.
He barely went to school and once held a knife to his biological mother's neck.
He claimed 'to have been a gangster since he was aged nine' and had carried a knife from a young age.
He stole from shops and used his mother's debit card to buy clothes or order trainers on the internet.'
Like father, like son is an old saying that seems particularly appropriate here.
'The dad is not a nice man,' said someone else who had the misfortune to live near the family. 'He would steal clothes donated to charity, either from outside charity shops or from the clothes banks you find at supermarkets.
'He would come back with 40 bags a night – he would always go stealing at night – and then sell the clothes. He didn't have a job.'
The family, who were on benefits, were eventually evicted from their red-brick terrace house.
'We saw the family packing up their things leaving the house,' recalled another resident. 'And we just thought 'thank God for that!'
'The family had no friends around here and the boy was just a menace. He never went to school because he's been kicked out for his behaviour or just wouldn't attend anyway.'
