Teenager sentenced to 13 years for the murder of Fred Shand

Fred Shand is pictured above.

A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to 13 years in a Young Offenders Institute for the murder of teenager Rohan Shand, who was killed on his way home from school in Kingsthorpe, Northampton.

Affectionately known as Fred by his family and friends, the 16-year-old died after an incident near the Cock Hotel in Harborough Road at about 3.35pm on Wednesday, March 22. 

The teenager, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of Fred’s murder at the conclusion of a four-week trial at Northampton Crown Court in August.

During the trial at Northampton Crown Court, jurors heard how the attack on Fred was plotted on Snapchat and an electric scooter was used to find him.

The attack was planned in response to a dispute between local schoolboys which had occurred the previous two days at McDonalds and Taco Bell.

Fred was walking home from school with friends and was near the Cock Hotel junction when his teenage assailant found him, having already attended his school looking for him.

Fred and his friend crossed to the island after being made aware the defendant was looking for them, but it was too late to avoid the confrontation that followed.

The 15-year-old approached Fred and having driven him back into a tree, stabbed him in the chest causing catastrophic blood loss, before fleeing. The entire incident was over in seven seconds.

Two upstanding members of the public who witnessed the incident followed the defendant to a nearby house and were able to inform police of his location.

Armed officers attended the address and found the teenager hiding in an attic room after being told “the guy who did it is still in the house”.

Two knives, one with Fred’s blood still on it, were found at the property, along with discarded clothing and mobile phones.

A 17-year-old boy, who stood trial alongside the 15-year-old and who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter. However, he received a youth rehabilitation order for 18 months in court today after pleading guilty to the charge of being in possession of a knife during the incident.

During today’s sentencing hearing, the court heard about the devastation Fred’s death caused to his family and friends.

A victim impact statement from Fred’s dad, Rohan, was read to court, in it he said: “Words cannot describe how I feel and the impact of losing Fred has had on not just me but my family, Fred’s friends, and the whole town. Losing Fred has left me with sleepless nights, anxiety, and insufferable pain.

“When Fred was taken so was my heart. My life will never be the same. When I wake up in the morning, I forget for a moment and shout Fred for school, make two cups of tea and then it all comes crashing down.

“All I have left is memories and photos of his upbringing and fun times. Fred was my best friend, my son and I relied on him to help me with technology, he would help order things online and he would also help around the house. We were a team and faced everything together.

“I will never get over losing my Fred, we had such a close bond. We had so many plans for the future. He didn’t even get to sit his GCSEs, get married, have children, and explore the world. Before Fred’s passing, he was planning to get an apprenticeship in bricklaying.

“I know Fred would have gone on to do amazing things but now all those dreams have been shattered.”

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Simon Barnes led the investigation into Fred’s death. He said: “Fred had his whole life ahead of him, he was about to sit his GCSEs and will have been looking forward to his future. His family have been left devastated by the brutality of his death and his friends traumatised.

“Today concludes the criminal proceedings into the murder of Fred and I hope his family and friends will now be able to grieve his loss with the comfort that the person who was responsible has been held to account. I want to thank them for the support they gave us throughout the investigation and the dignity they showed while listening to the evidence presented at court.

“Fred was simply walking home from school when he was senselessly attacked and killed. There is no possible justification for his death. The teenager found guilty of murdering him may not have set out to kill Fred but he and the 17-year-old chose to take knives, when they left home to confront him, something which massively increased the chances of someone being stabbed.

“My hope is that other young people now realise the very real dangers of carrying a knife, if you’re carrying a knife the chances of it being used either by you are against you are extremely high.

“Enough is enough and we need a societal change. We all have a responsibility to speak to children and young people about the dangers of knives, please take that responsibility seriously, and if you’re worried about someone who may be carrying a knife, please call us on 101. We can help, before another child like Fred, is needlessly killed.”

DI Barnes added: “Throughout the trial we heard about the heroic actions of the members of the public who helped Fred after he was stabbed and I want to pay tribute to them. To those people who stopped to help him and provide medical care and those who followed the 15-year-old away from the scene, allowing us to make a quick arrest, thank you.

“I also want to pay tribute to my colleagues and the other emergency services who attended the scene and were involved in the immediate response and investigation. We sign up to serve and help the public but nothing can prepare you for what they encountered that day and I thank them for doing all they could to help Fred.”

 

CCTV and police body worn video footage from before and after Fred was stabbed.