Darrell Desuze sentenced for killing pensioner Richard Mannington Bowes during riots

Darrell Desuze (left) punched Richard Mannington Bowes to the ground (PA)

The 17-year-old who killed a pensioner during last year’s rioting in London has been locked up for eight years.

Darrell Desuze admitted causing the death of Richard Mannington Bowes when, aged just 16, he punched his victim to the ground, causing him to bang his head so hard on the floor he suffered brain damage.

But, despite being deprived of any chance of reconciliation with her estranged brother, Mr Mannington Bowes’ sister Anne Wilderspin said she forgave Desuze his “terrible crime”. In an victim impact statement read out in court, she said she hoped he and his mother, who was jailed for 18 months for perverting the course of justice, would “have the opportunity to look at their lifestyles in a different light so as to find a new purpose in life”.

Mr Mannington Bowes, who was 68, was putting out a fire in a bin near his home in Ealing, west London when he was hit by Desuze. It was several minutes before police could get to him because of the violence going on at the time and he died in hospital three days later.

Ms Wilderspin said she had not seen her brother for a long time but hoped they would be reunited when she heard of his injuries. “I was completely devastated that I had found my brother and lost him again on the same day,” she said, adding: “Darrell and his mother have blown their prospects as regards opportunities for future employment. Their integrity is hopelessly damaged.”

Desuze admitted manslaughter and, passing sentence at Inner London Crown Court yesterday, Mr Justice Saunders said he took into account the teenager’s previous guilty pleas to violent disorder and burglary. His mother, Lavinia, 31, admitted cutting up the clothing he wore on the night and discarding it.

Jailing Lavinia Desuze, the judge said he felt some sympathy for her but said that, at the time she destroyed the clothing, she was aware another man had been arrested and she had increased the chance of him being wrongly prosecuted.

“On the jury's verdict, even though she committed a very serious offence, she did so to protect her young son to whom she had given birth when she was only 14 and who she had looked after as a single mother for most of his life...”, he said, adding: “I accept that the instinct of a mother to protect her child is a very powerful one.”