A teen who strangled and stabbed his older sister because she was “annoying” has been sentenced to a minimum of 10 years and five months in jail. Mali Bennett-Smith was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court his morning, Monday, March 10, after pleading guilty to murder.
The 17-year-old told police his sister was “annoying” and he wanted to kill her. The court heard that Bennett-Smith held his sister, Luka Bennett-Smith, in a headlock before stabbing her repeatedly at the home they shared in the St Andrews area of the city on October 20 last year. He rang emergency services 20 minutes later but it was too late for her life to be saved.
Judge Hart said: “It’s often said in courtrooms when a child has died: ‘It must be every parent’s worst nightmare’. The horror of the loss of their daughter at the hands of the son they still love is beyond even the worst nightmares.”
The court heard that Bennett-Smith grew up on a remote farm in New Zealand, where he was home-schooled, but after his parents divorced he moved to the UK with his sister and mother with the aim of going to college to prepare to join the Army.
He later dropped out of his college course, the court was told. He and his sister were at home on their own when the killing took place.
In a prepared statement he later gave to police, Bennett-Smith said his sister, who had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, was “annoying” and he felt she bullied him.
He told officers: “After watching a video, I went downstairs to the lounge and I asked Luka if I could practise a headlock on her. She agreed, we have done this before and when she needed me to stop we had an agreement where she would tap me on the arm.
“On this occasion I had decided I was not going to stop, I wanted to kill her, I had enough with regards she had been treating me over the years and recently.”
Sentencing him to detention at His Majesty’s pleasure, the judge said: “The killing was shocking and brutal. It has deprived Luka of her life, your parents in effect of two of their children, and will deprive you of your liberty.”
Ray Tully KC, defending, said Bennett-Smith has severe dyslexia and dysgraphia and, although he has an above average IQ, was found to have below average “processing speed”.
He said the teenager’s “somewhat unconventional” upbringing meant he did not mix with other children his own age, and spent a lot of time gaming. Mr Tully said the defendant would disappear into a world of video gaming and become dissociated from the real world.
He said: “Mali did not know how to manage his increasing feelings of frustration and resentment towards Luka.”
He said the teenager had “genuine remorse” for his actions.
Detective Inspector Nadine Partridge, the senior investigating officer, said: “Our thoughts remain fully with Luka’s family at this difficult time. They continue to be updated and supported by specially trained family liaison officers.
“They have asked for privacy while they continue to process the tragic events of that night and I would urge everyone to please respect their wishes.”
The judge lifted reporting restrictions on naming the 17-year-old defendant after an application by the PA news agency.