British gang of four given prison for murder of autistic man

From BBC News:

Four people (pictured) have been jailed for a "chilling and brutal" fatal attack on a defenceless man.

Shaun Rossington, 21, who had Asperger's Syndrome, was beaten to death in Lincoln last June.

Nicholas Shelbourne, 27, and Mark Jackson, 21, were jailed for life for murder and will serve at least 13 years.

Daryll Jones and Jordan O'Rourke, both 17, also convicted of murder, must serve 13 years and 11 years.

A girl, 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of manslaughter, and was detained for five years.

Nottingham Crown Court heard Mr Rossington had been surrounded, hit with a bottle, punched, kicked and stamped on.

He suffered more than 40 injuries and was left to die on grass near Searby Road.

However, some of the group later returned to the scene and realised they had killed their victim.

A new plot was hatched - they dialled 999 and, playing the part of concerned members of the public, claimed they had stumbled across the body of a stranger.

However, the gang were later charged over the attack.

In an impact statement to the court, Sharon Rossington, Mr Rossington's mother, said she repeatedly went to the mortuary simply to hold her son's hand.

She added: "Sometimes I go to sleep and hope I never wake up. Our lives will never be normal."

Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Cox described the crime as a "wholly unprovoked, chilling and brutal attack on a defenceless man".

Speaking outside court, Mr Rossington's brother, Chris, said: "My parents, grandparents, partner and I are still grieving and to imagine what Shaun must have gone through that night makes me feel sick.

"The hatred I personally feel for all who were involved in the murder of my brother will never go away and the fact that Shaun was viciously taken away from us still breaks out hearts."

Jackson, of Yarborough Road, Lincoln, Shelbourne, of Edinburgh House, Laughton Way, Lincoln, Jones and O'Rouke, also of Lincoln, were convicted of murder in December.

A 14-year-old girl who was convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice was given a two-year community youth rehabilitation order.