Boy guilty of disabled man murder

12.00.00am GMT Tue 22nd Jan 2008

A teenager has been convicted of murder for his part in a brutal gang attack on a man with learning difficulties.

Brent Martin, 23, died in hospital after being found in a pool of blood on Sunderland's Town End Farm estate in August 2007.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and two other attackers beat Mr Martin to death "for sport", Newcastle Crown Court heard.

William Hughes, 21, and a youth, aged 16, have already admitted murder. Both teenagers were trained as boxers, and their victim was repeatedly punched, kicked, stamped on and head-butted.

A post-mortem examination revealed he died from a massive head injury and had suffered at least 18 separate blows to the head and neck.

During his trial, the court heard that the 17-year-old defendant later told witnesses: "I am not going down for a muppet." The mother of the 16-year-old has been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice by washing her son's bloodstained clothes. No date has yet been set for her trial.