Sydenham stabbing: Mum who drove son to machete killing is jailed

Nichola Leighton will serve a minimum of 23 years while her son Tyreese Ulysses, 19, was handed a 13-year term

A mother who drove her son and his friends to kill a member of a rival gang has been given a life sentence.

Nichola Leighton, 36, took her son Tyreese Ulysses - who received 13 years for manslaughter - to find Levi Ernest-Morrison in south-east London.

His friend Alex Sprules, 17, stabbed Levi in the groin after he fell on the ground. He was jailed at the Old Bailey for at least 20 years for murder.

Leighton, also convicted of murder, was jailed for at least 23 years.

The Met Police's lead investigator described the killing, which happened in Sydenham, as "extremely harrowing".

A 16-year-old boy who swung a machete at Levi, causing him to trip over, was sentenced to life for murder. He was detained for a minimum of 16 years.

Sprules, from Lewisham, is being named for the first time after a court order banning his identification was lifted.

Ulysses, 19, from Catford in south-east London, has paranoid schizophrenia and was driven by a desire to protect his mother, who was becoming increasingly agitated by youths knocking at her door, the Old Bailey heard.

He will serve a further five years on extended licence after his prison term.

The defendants also received concurrent sentences for being in possession of machetes.

Levi Ernest-Morrison, 19, died after being stabbed in the groin

Judge Peter Rook QC told them: "These are truly grave offences and sadly yet another example of knife crime that is the scourge of some of our cities.

"This group attack was a brutal overreaction to a small problem, a petty rivalry between teenagers.

"The immediate trigger was the appearance of a rival gang attending Nichola Leighton's address, which appears to have been a reaction to a taunting video made earlier by you, Sprules, and you, Ulysses."

'Saw red'

The court heard how Leighton became "furious" after Levi and his friends kept knocking on her door looking for her son.

Leighton phoned police and said that if the boys returned to her home in Sydenham she was going to "batter them".

Rather than waiting for police to arrive, Leighton "saw red", the judge added.

Leighton admitted driving them but said she was unaware they were armed.

'Bizarre and upsetting'

During the trial it emerged there were gang associations on both sides.

In a victim impact statement, Levi's mother Bonnie Ernest-Blake described him as "well mannered, caring, trustworthy" and "always smiling".

He had autism and could not run very fast after being involved in a road accident, she said.

He was looking forward to starting an apprenticeship in construction and marrying his girlfriend.

In her statement read out by her daughter, Kayla Ernest, she said she had been left "heartbroken".

"I feel like I'm in a horror film I cannot get out of my mind," Ms Ernest-Blake said.

Det Ch Insp Chris Wood said: "We have got a mother that has driven one of her sons to assist in committing this offence; it makes it even more bizarre and upsetting for the family.

"It's shocking. I have never seen a case like this where a mother has driven her son and others to commit an offence like this."

Julius Capon, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Nichola Leighton should have known better - now she and her son will have to live with the consequences of their actions."