His last words were ‘I love you’ – then he was stabbed to loss of life: Mother’s heartache after teen murdered with zombie knife

For free actual time breaking information alerts despatched straight to your inbox enroll to our breaking information emails

Sign up to our free breaking information emails

Mikey Roynon was proudly carrying his new tracksuit and trainers – purchased for him by his mom to mark the beginning of his GCSE exams – when he got here bounding down the steps at his household residence in Kingswood, close to Bristol.

The 16-year-old had mentioned he was heading to Nando’s with some buddies whereas his mom Hayley Ryall was going to a piece occasion in Birmingham, leaving Mikey in a single day with a pal for the primary night time.

“I saw him come down and I smiled and said: ‘You look bloody handsome,’” Ms Ryall instructed The Independent. “He smiled back and then, as he walked out of the door, he turned around and said ‘I love you’.

“And that’s how I’ll remember the last time I saw him.”

Hours later, Mikey, 16, was stabbed to loss of life within the neck with a zombie knife at a sixteenth party in Bath.

Ms Ryall, a Slimming World guide, knew one thing was improper when she found 37 missed calls on her cell – largely from Mikey. But she had no concept that her total world was about to crumble.

“Mikey’s friends were calling me from his phone, and when I called back they said he’d been stabbed and that he’d gone,” she mentioned.

“I couldn’t – I didn’t – believe it at first. I sent my friend to the nearby hospital to find him and got another friend to drive me to Bath. But when I arrived, I found out he didn’t make it to the hospital.

“I saw at the address [of the house party] there was a forensic tent and officers walking around in white suits. A police officer told me what happened and said I should go home. I was stunned. I can’t explain the feeling.”

That night time was the start of a devastating time for Mikey’s mom.

In the 9 months that adopted, she buried her son and relived the night time he died throughout a five-week trial which ended with one teenager convicted of homicide and two others of manslaughter.

“It was the best result that we could have got,” Ms Ryall mentioned of the conviction.

“The one boy being found guilty of murder, that was my main focus. I thought it would make no difference, but actually it made a huge difference and made me feel like we got justice for Mikey.”

The trial heard how Mikey had gone to the occasion with a bunch of buddies when hassle flared within the again backyard and he was stabbed within the neck. He collapsed on the entrance driveway, and later died.

The convicted boys, not recognized to Mikey, arrived on the occasion by bus from Wiltshire. CCTV footage from the bus confirmed what detectives mentioned was a big knife down one among their trousers.

One of the boys admitted stabbing Mikey, however he mentioned it was a part of an act of self-defence – a declare the jury dismissed in its verdict, discovering him responsible of homicide.

The two different boys, who jurors heard were additionally armed with knives, were additionally held chargeable for the assault, and each convicted of manslaughter.

“I don’t think they knew who they were doing it to – I don’t believe they even knew Mikey,” mentioned Ms Ryall. “All the boys [including Mikey] had balaclavas on, I don’t think you could tell who was who.

“I feel so angry at them because they’ve caused so much pain. Mikey was my world, and I miss him every day.”

Since her son’s loss of life, Ms Ryall mentioned her life had been “horrendous”.

The teenager nonetheless had two GCSE exams to take when he was killed. Weeks later, when his mom obtained his outcomes, she took them to his grave at Kingswood Cemetery to open them with his pal. He had obtained grades starting from 4 to 6 within the exams he had taken.

“I wanted him to see how well he’d done,” she mentioned.

Mikey was buried at a well-attended funeral in a substitute tracksuit of the one purchased for him earlier than he died.

Now, following the trial, Ms Ryall is specializing in a bunch she’s arrange in his title, Mikey’s World, geared toward tackling knife crime regionally. It’s additionally distributing bleed management kits – a bag containing gadgets resembling bandages to cease bleeding from accidents resembling a stab wound – at pubs, sports activities golf equipment and halls, with greater than 120 already rolled out.

A complete of £20,000 has been raised for the group, quickly to be registered as a charity.

Mikey’s loss of life was one among a spate of deadly teenage stabbings within the Bath and Bristol area. A month earlier than Mikey was stabbed, 18-year-old Ben Moncreiff was killed outdoors McDonald’s in Bath metropolis centre, the place a job power on knife crime has now been arrange by the native council.

In Bristol, youngsters Max Dixon, aged 16, and Mason Rist, 15, were stabbed to loss of life in January. A month later, 16-year-old Darrian Williams was additionally killed in a stabbing.

Ms Ryall mentioned: “If I knew my son was going to that party I’d have said no. There are so many young people carrying knives, it is everywhere.

“I’m not sure if it’s gangs, or the whole postcode thing – but if you have a party where there are alot of different friend groups coming together, that’s when there is a danger.

“Mikey was really switched on, but he didn’t stand a chance. We all need to do more to stamp this out. Tougher sentences, better support. Too many lives have been lost.”

Latest figures from the Ministry of Justice confirmed 26 per cent of knife crime offences dedicated by youngsters below 18 resulted in a reprimand, warning or youth warning within the yr ending September 2023.

Eight per cent leading to a direct sentence.

Locally, Avon and Somerset Police has been working with Bath and North East Somerset Council, and different companies, in trying to divert younger folks away from crime.

The teams have additionally held open occasions with dad and mom to assist them maintain their youngsters secure, with three held at native faculties over the previous month.

Detective Inspector Mark Newbury, the senior investigating officer, mentioned: “Our communities are also key and we’d like to encourage parents to talk to their children about knife crime – to make sure that they understand the terrible consequences carrying a knife can have and also how to report if they have concerns about someone they know carrying a knife.”

The three boys convicted of killing Mikey shall be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on 3 May.