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MURDERED Olly Stephens’ parents remembered the moment they found their 13-year-old son lifeless in a park – with his father shouting “boy, boy, no”.
They were speaking after three “absolutely cruel” schoolchildren were jailed yesterday after “luring” the boy to a park before stabbing him to death.
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The thugs, who were only 13 at the time, attacked Olly in Reading, Berkshire, following a social media dispute.
Remembering the moment they found their son, mum Amanda Stephens said her husband Stuart ran barefoot out of their house to where Olly was dying.
She said: “I remember when I got there Stuart fell to his knees and he was just screaming ‘boy, boy, no’.
“I watched and Ollie was completely lifeless.”
As paramedics fought to revive Olly, Stuart was devastated by his son.
He said: “I knelt down and held his hand and there was no response and he was cold and lifeless.
“The thing that comes to my mind is that when I got on the pitch, everyone turned around – the horror was just written on their faces.”
Stuart also lambasted a “selfish conceited daughter” who lured her son, who had autism, to his “cruel execution.”
The 14-year-old tricked Olly into going to a popular dog walking ground where he was stabbed to death in a frantic ambush by two other boys, who were only 13 at the time , a few steps from the victim’s home.
Face to face with his son’s murderers in court, Olly’s father, Stuart Stephens, relived the terrifying moment he sprinted to find his dying son.
He called the girl “selfish” and blamed the three “also” for the murder during his tearful impact statement.
Stuart, who struggled to get his words heard on the witness stand, said: “The cruel actions of a selfish and conceited girl led to Olly being trapped and killed.
“The day she came into her life is a day that we will miss forever.
“As a family we hold all three of you equally responsible for his death, there will never be forgiveness from us.
“We are no longer the people we used to be and we will never be the same.”
The boys, now 14, were found guilty of murdering the victim following a trial at Reading Crown Court this summer.
They were now sentenced to 12 and 13 years in an institution for young offenders.
The girl set up the “ambush” and had already admitted manslaughter and was not tried.
She was only sentenced to three years and two months.
The three defendants cannot be named because of their age.
Stuart said their actions “reduced our son to a sack of ashes”, adding: “I had a job as a father, to protect my children, and I failed miserably – I will never forgive myself.”
Nothing less than an execution
Olly’s mother Amanda said: “Why didn’t one of them step in to prevent this from happening, why didn’t he care enough about standing up for it?
“Olly always stood up for the underdog, it got him in trouble, but that was just him.”
Jurors had previously been told that Olly’s killers shared several hostile posts about him on Snapchat in the days leading up to the stabbing.
The girl said in a message: “Karma – he [Olly] deserves it all.
The victim was convinced to go to Bugs Bottom Field, where he was “ambushed” by the two boys and stabbed to death.
The younger of the two boys inflicted the fatal blows on Olly’s body.
Chilled to the bone
The young boy was convicted of murder and for hijacking the course of justice after admitting to discarding the clothes worn at the time of the attack.
The older boy was convicted of murder and two counts of court perversion for removing apps from his cell phone, which he admitted, and for throwing away clothes worn during the attack, which he denied but for which he was convicted.
The girl pleaded guilty to manslaughter and perverting the course of justice by deleting data from her cell phone.
The trial took place under special conditions, with frequent breaks and the lawyers removing their dresses and wigs, due to the age of the defendants.
Speaking in court, Chief Detective Andy Howard said: “No parent should have to endure the horror of their child’s death in this way.
“A 13-year-old boy with a bright future ahead of him has died under violent and distressing circumstances and his family and friends have been devastated by his loss, and three other young people and their families have seen their lives changed forever.
“The implications for their future are also devastating.”
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The touching statements of the victim of the parents of murdered 13-year-old schoolboy, Olly Stephens
Stuart Stephens reminded the court of the moment he sprinted to find his winger son dying in a field known as Bugs Bottom.
Addressing the young accused in court, Mr Stephens said: “As a family we all hold the three of you equally responsible for his death, there will never be any forgiveness from us. We are no more. the people we were and we will never be the same again.
“The cruel actions of a selfish and conceited girl led to Olly being trapped and killed. The day she entered her life is a day we will forever miss.
“All this destruction for what? Hearsay, gossip, lies and deception. Your actions reduced our son to ashes, he didn’t deserve this fate. No child deserves such a harsh end.
“Olly was unaware of what was planned for him and he was unarmed. The insensitivity with which they planned this left us frozen to the bone. It was nothing short of that. an execution.
“This is how we repay our military, we have created a society where the needs of our children are neglected and therefore they go wild and kill each other.”
“I had a job as a father, to protect my children, and I failed miserably – I will never forgive myself.”
He added: “[Olly] didn’t deserve his fate, no matter what he might have said or done, no child deserves such a ruthless fate.
“We will always want to spend time with our son, the love of our child overshadows everything we do. It is because of jealousy and rumors that our son is gone.
“It turns my stomach daily to think of its last moments, to have turned it off in this way. One wrongdoing has doomed us all to a miserable future.
“As parents, we worked extremely hard to provide a loving environment for our children, that was our reward.
“The cruel and cruel murder of Olly tore the soul out of our family. No justice can compensate us for our loss.”
Olly’s mother Amanda said: “Why didn’t one of them step in to prevent this from happening, why didn’t he care enough to defend it?
“Olly always stood up for the underdog, it got him in trouble, but that was just him.”
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