Leo Ross' killer's sentence to be be reviewed after complaints it's too lenient
The sentence handed to Kian Moulton, who killed 12-year-old Leo Ross in Birmingham last year, is being reviewed after complaints it is too lenient.
Last updated 6 hours ago
The 13-year minimum term handed to the teenage killer who stabbed schoolboy Leo Ross will be considered by the Attorney General's Office after multiple complaints that it was unduly lenient.
Kian Moulton, aged 15, was sentenced to life by High Court Judge Mr Justice Choudhury on Tuesday, as an order protecting his anonymity was ordered to be lifted.
The court was told "cowardly" Moulton murdered Leo, aged 12, in a random knife attack in a country park after trying to drown an 82-year-old woman and attacking two other elderly victims in January last year.
Moulton pushed three pensioners to the ground in separate attacks near the River Cole in Hall Green, Birmingham.
Leo was fatally stabbed while walking home from the Christ Church, Church of England Secondary Academy in Yardley Wood.
The terms of the sentence handed to Moulton mean he may be eligible for release on life licence when he is aged 27.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said: "I can confirm that we have received multiple requests for this sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.
"The Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to carefully consider the case and make a decision."
Under the ULS scheme, the law officers - the Attorney General or Solicitor General - can refer Crown Court cases to the Court of Appeal if they consider that a sentence appears unduly lenient.
Moulton was named in media reports on Thursday, after the expiry of a stay on Mr Justice Choudhury's decision to lift a reporting restriction granting anonymity.
The judge said that naming Moulton as the killer would have some deterrent effect, telling Birmingham Crown Court: "Knife crime, particularly among youths, is of particular concern."
Alistair Webster KC, defending Moulton, argued that identifying him as the perpetrator of what he called "shocking" crimes would pose a significant risk to his rehabilitation.
But the judge ruled it was in the public interest to identify Moulton, saying the public would want to know "what could have led a child to commit such acts".
The judge said Moulton, who pleaded guilty to murder, was thinking coolly, rationally and acted precisely as he wanted to when he chose to use the knife on the schoolboy.
The judge added: "Although you have no previous convictions, at the time you killed Leo you already committed three grave offences against other victims."