Sister of riot death OAP forgives killer

The teenager who killed pensioner Richard Mannington Bowes during the riots in London last summer was locked up for eight years yesterday, as his victim’s sister said she forgave him.

Darrell Desuze, 17, punched Mr Bowes, 68, to the ground on 8 August last year.

Mr Bowes, who had been trying to put out a fire in a bin near his home in Ealing, suffered brain damage and died three days later in hospital.

Desuze, who was 16 at the time, was given eight years’ detention at Inner London Crown Court, while his mother Lavinia was jailed for 18 months for getting rid of the clothes he wore that night.

Mr Bowes’ sister Anne Wilderspin, from Derbyshire, said she forgave Desuze. She said she had not seen her brother for some years, but had hoped for a reconciliation, which Desuze had “permanently denied”.