Leicester, June 5 – A 15-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl have been sentenced for the brutal killing of 80-year-old Bhim Kohli, who was attacked while out walking his dog in Franklin Park, Leicestershire, last September.
Kohli was left with three broken ribs and a fatal spinal cord injury after the boy racially abused him and struck him in the face with a slider shoe, Leicester Crown Court heard. Kohli’s children later found him “screaming out” in pain, according to harrowing testimony from his daughter, Susan Kohli.
The boy was sentenced to seven years in custody, while the girl, who filmed the assault on her phone and laughed as she encouraged the attack, received a three-year youth rehabilitation order and a six-month curfew.
Both teens were convicted of manslaughter following a chilling account from prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC, who described a “seven-and-a-half minute period of continuing aggression” as Kohli’s beloved dog Rocky looked on.
The attack follows a spate of anti-social behaviour by youths in Franklin Park – a problem that has since sparked wider scrutiny and improvements in how such incidents are logged and reported.
“The girl was the catalyst for this attack,” said Kelly Matthews, senior district crown prosecutor for the CPS in the East Midlands. “She pointed out Mr. Kohli to the boy and filmed it all while laughing.”
Matthews noted that it’s “not often that we see individuals so young in court charged with such violent offences,” and credited “very young witnesses” for helping bring the pair to justice after they were heard bragging about the killing.
Mr. Kohli, described as a “devoted life partner” to his wife Satinder of 55 years, was targeted simply for taking his dog out for a walk. His tragic death has become a rallying cry for better community vigilance and youth intervention.
