Woman with ‘distorted notion of revenge’ sentenced for stabbing transgender woman
A woman who carried out a transphobic stabbing attack motivated by a “distorted notion of revenge” has been sentenced to more than eight years in youth detention,The victim, a transgender woman who was 18 at the time, was stabbed nine times in Harrow last February in an attack involving five young people wearing masks, the Old Bailey heard,She only survived because passersby stepped in to help, the court was told,After stabbing the victim nine times, Summer Betts-Ramsey, 20, told a friend: “It deserved it,” She admitted possessing a knife and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Sentencing her to eight and a half years in youth detention, of which four and half must be served in custody, Mr Justice Katz described the attack as “abhorrent”.He said it was motivated by a “distorted notion of revenge”, in part linked to the victim’s gender identity.The judge added that Betts-Ramsey, from Barnet, was a “dangerous offender”.Three other youths involved in the attack Bradley Harris from Harrow; Camron Osei from Tadworth, Surrey; and Shiloh Hindes from Southwark, who are all 18, were sentenced to three years in youth detention.A fifth member of the gang, a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named because of his age, was given a youth rehabilitation order.
The gang were angered by the victim lying about her gender identity after she kissed Harris and gave him oral sex, the court heard,Harris was then told the woman was transgender, and he challenged her about it – which she initially denied “having been attacked in the past because of her transgender identity”, prosecutor Deanna Heer KC told the Old Bailey,She admitted she was transgender when Harris threatened to stab her, the court heard,The gang then took to Snapchat to plan to “beat her up” after luring her to a roller disco in Harrow,Phone evidence revealed that during a call, Betts-Ramsey told someone: “I have to go to Harrow to beat up some … a fucking tranny bro,” the court heard.
As well as being repeatedly stabbed, the victim was punched, kicked and stamped on while transphobic slurs were shouted at her.In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said she is living with “thick scars” and still struggles to sleep after the incident.Members of the group later bragged about the assault and taunted their victim, posting footage of what they had done on social media.The judge said the victim had been “viciously assaulted”.In his sentencing remarks, he added: “She was punched to the ground and repeatedly kicked and stamped on.
“Rather than help, all of those involved ran off.She suffered really serious physical and emotional injuries.”He said video footage of the attack was “sickening to watch”.As Betts-Ramsey was stabbing the victim, the others continued to attack her with kicks and punches for about 45 seconds before the group left the scene, the prosecutor said.Members of the public helped the woman and an ambulance was called, the court heard.
A 17-year-old girl who has admitted to robbing the woman’s handbag after the attack has yet to be sentenced,
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Russian hackers target WhatsApp accounts of ministers worldwide
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Draper delighted hard work paying off after hat-trick of Melbourne marathons
Jack Draper says his trio of five-set victories at the Australian Open are evidence of the hard work he has put into his career, effort that is finally paying off for him in the biggest matches.“I still have a long way to go, but this is a huge drive forward, the fact that I’ve come through three five-set matches, mentally and physically, it doesn’t happen often,” said Draper. “That’s a testament to the work I’ve done and the place I’m in. So very, very proud of that.”At 12:55am on Saturday morning in Melbourne, Draper, the 15th seed, closed out his third five-set win in as many matches to reach the fourth round with a 6-4, 2-6, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) victory over Aleksandar Vukic of Australia
Windsor embraces return of jumps racing with cash at the Million festival
When Windsor staged what was billed as its last ever jumps meeting in December 1998, the final race on the card was the Norwegian Blue Handicap Hurdle – a clear sign that as far as the track was concerned, jumping was no more. It had ceased to be.A generation later, though, it is suddenly showing distinct signs of life. There were just under 5,000 racegoers at Windsor last month for the first officially scheduled jumps meeting for 26 years, and the queues at the turnstiles on Friday – the first of two days as part of the first Berkshire Million festival, with the Clarence House Chase card at Ascot as the meat in the sandwich – suggested plenty of those fans had come back for more.There was a total of £18,299 in win prize money on offer for the seven races in 1998
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