Blog

The mother of a teenage boy who was stabbed to death by a love rival and his parents has called the sentences his killers received “a joke”.

Jay Sewell, 18, was attacked by a group led by Daniel Grogan, who thought he was dating his ex-girlfriend.

Mr Sewell’s mother Sharon Louch said she and her family were still “suffering” and felt they had been sidelined during the court process.

Grogan, 20, was found guilty of murder and jailed for a minimum of 21 years.

The Old Bailey heard he had deliberately engineered a stand-off with Mr Sewell and his ex-girlfriend Gemma Hodder in December 2018.

Mr Sewell and his friends were set upon in Lee, south-east London, by Grogan’s parents and friends who were armed with knives, hammers, a 4ft (1.2m) fireman’s axe and wooden sticks.

Ms Louch said her son had only known Ms Hodder for four days but in that time had received numerous threats.

“He decided enough was enough and he needed to go and sort it out. I wish he had come to me but instead he went to sort it out himself,” she said.

She described her son as a “very popular, very loyal” teenager who “meant everything to me”.

“I lie awake at night and that’s all I think about…just his last minutes because I never got to say goodbye,” Ms Louch said.

On Tuesday, Grogan and a group of his friends and family were given sentences ranging from life imprisonment to a nine-month rehabilitation order.

Ms Louch said it was “completely and utterly wrong” that some of those involved “could be out on the street” soon.

She said: “I had to walk out, I couldn’t listen to it – I did feel very angry about it because we haven’t been able to say a lot at all.

“It was all about them. The court process is very much in their favour. I just don’t think there’s any deterrent to stop people from doing this or reoffending.”

The prime minister has previously called for tougher sentences and an end to automatic release for all killers.

Those jailed over fatal stabbing

• Grogan’s father Robert, 58, who had armed himself with an axe, was jailed for 14-and-a-half years for manslaughter, six years for wounding with intent and three-and-a-half years for violent disorder
• Grogan’s mother Ann, 55, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years for manslaughter and three-and-a-half years for violent disorder, to be served concurrently
• Friend and neighbour Charlie Dudley, 26, of Grove Park, was jailed for 16 years for manslaughter, six-and-a-half years for wounding with intent and three-and-a-half years for violent disorder, to be served concurrently
• Cousin Liam Hickey, 19, of Eltham, was sentenced to three years in a Young Offenders Institution for wounding with intent and two years for violent disorder, to be served concurrently
• Sister Francesca Grogan, 30, of Sibthorpe Road, was jailed for 12 months for violent disorder
• Jamie Bennett, 32, of Sibthorpe Road, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for violent disorder
• A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named, was handed a nine-month rehabilitation order and a supervision order for violent disorder.