Teenager jailed for life for party stabbing murder

Charlie Cosser was stabbed three times in the chest

A 17-year-old who stabbed a teenager on a crowded dance floor has been jailed for life for his murder.

Yura Varybrus, who was found guilty of murder and having a bladed article at a previous hearing, was ordered to serve at least 16 years at Brighton Crown Court.

Judge Christine Henson KC lifted reporting restrictions on naming Varybrus and said it had been a "particularly grave crime" which had shocked a community.

Charlie Cosser, also 17, from Milford, Surrey, was stabbed three times in the chest in a marquee at a party attended by more than 100 people in Warnham, West Sussex, last July.

Tackling knife crime

Sentencing, the judge said: “Instead of what should have been an end of academic year celebration, Charlie was stabbed...on a crowded marquee dance floor.

"The impact of the loss of Charlie to his family and friends is immeasurable.”

She said she accepted it was a "spontaneous" incident and it was not certain that Varybrus brought the knife to the party.

But she told Varybrus it was "a significant factor you knew the knife was available to you during the evening and you were in possession of it".

She said: “You armed yourself with a knife on the dance floor."

Charlie's mother, Tara Cosser, said he had begun a groundsman apprenticeship and was excited about going on his first holiday with friends, which he had been saving up for.

"We have the life sentence, and Charlie has no life," she said.

"No sentence will be long enough for my child's murderer. It doesn't bring Charlie back."

Since Charlie's death, the family have set up Charlie's Promise, a charity dedicated to fighting knife crime.

Yura Varybrus was ordered to serve at least 16 years in jail

In mitigation, Sarah Jones KC said Varybrus would turn back time if he could, adding: "He will always be known for something he cannot even remember, that was the work of a drunken few seconds."

She said he understood Charlie did not deserve what happened to him and his family did not deserve to lose their son.

During the trial, the court heard Varybrus and his friends were asked to leave the party and Charlie was stabbed after a fight broke out.

The knife has never been found.

Witnesses said they saw Varybrus, then 16, "drenched" in blood and heard him say "I've stabbed someone".

Later, Charlie was seen lying on the grass and his friends realised he had been stabbed.

Charlie suffered a cardiac arrest on the way to hospital, with internal bleeding caused by a cut to his aorta, the main artery from the heart. He died two days later.