This is Essex -- Three people convicted of the murder of Romford teenager Luke Harwood have been jailed for a total of 57 years. Emma Hall, 21, James Danby, 27, Tony O'Toole, 30, were sentenced at the Old Bailey today after the court heard the 18-year-old was kicked and stamped to death in a killing of 'extraordinary' violence when he was wrongly accused of rape. Hall was jailed for 15 years, Danby caged for 25 years, while O'Toole was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 17 years in prison. The court was told Hall instigated the attack, and he was left resembling the Elephant Man before she drove him to playing fields where he was finished off by leader Danby and accomplice O'Toole. Danby bragged about how slight Mr Harwood's head had flattened 'like a marshmallow' and wanted to pull his teeth out to prevent the body being identified. Hall went to a phone box and to ring the police when Danby said he wanted to return to the body to disfigure it. Judge Paul Worsley told Hall: 'You played your part in taking Luke Harwood from the house to be killed and were due to return to the scene the following night in order to mutilate the body. 'I bear in mind your good character and the fact you alone had the courage to call the police, which led to the arrest of all of you, though you down-played your role.' Hall was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and perverting the course of justice, but cleared of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Danby was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm, perverting the course of justice and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. He refused to leave his cell to be jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years. The judge said: 'James Danby is a controlling, manipulative and dangerous individual who manipulated others in the dock to support him in these dreadful events. 'He has shown no sign of remorse but only contempt for these proceedings.' He added: 'Luke Harwood was the subject of beating, punching and kicking for a period of some two hours which left footmarks of his skull and head such that he had the appearance of the Elephant Man. 'He was a vulnerable victim. He weighed only seven stone, was eighteen and no match for any of you, let alone a joint group attack. 'He was completely at your mercy - he had been rendered completely helpless.' O'Toole was cleared of causing grievous bodily harm but convicted of perverting the course of justice and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Billy Duggan, 21, who was convicted of perverting the course of justice and conspiring to pervert the course of justice, was handed a two-year jail term, suspended for two years. He sobbed and shook before collapsing in the dock as he was told he will walk free. Luke, who was 5ft 7ins tall and weighed just seven stone, and was one of a family of six children and had a son who was eight months old when his father died. He had been living with his son and his mother but in the weeks before he had been arguing with his girlfriend and had asked to be re-housed by he council. On the night he died, Sunday May 27 last year, he moved to the room at the council bungalow at 72 Crow Lane, Romford, where Danby and the others lived. By chance, an 18 year-old girl visiting the house that evening saw Luke and claimed he had raped her two years before. Her complaint had been dropped after she was interviewed by police, who found her accusation was untrue. Danby took a photograph of his on his mobile and showed it to the girl to confirm it was the man she claimed had raped her before he launched his ferocious two hour assault.
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This is Essex -- Three people convicted of the murder of Romford teenager Luke Harwood have been jailed for a total of 57 years. Emma Hall, 21, James Danby, 27, Tony O'Toole, 30, were sentenced at the Old Bailey today after the court heard the 18-year-old was kicked and stamped to death in a killing of 'extraordinary' violence when he was wrongly accused of rape. Hall was jailed for 15 years, Danby caged for 25 years, while O'Toole was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 17 years in prison. The court was told Hall instigated the attack, and he was left resembling the Elephant Man before she drove him to playing fields where he was finished off by leader Danby and accomplice O'Toole. Danby bragged about how slight Mr Harwood's head had flattened 'like a marshmallow' and wanted to pull his teeth out to prevent the body being identified. Hall went to a phone box and to ring the police when Danby said he wanted to return to the body to disfigure it. Judge Paul Worsley told Hall: 'You played your part in taking Luke Harwood from the house to be killed and were due to return to the scene the following night in order to mutilate the body. 'I bear in mind your good character and the fact you alone had the courage to call the police, which led to the arrest of all of you, though you down-played your role.' Hall was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and perverting the course of justice, but cleared of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Danby was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm, perverting the course of justice and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. He refused to leave his cell to be jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years. The judge said: 'James Danby is a controlling, manipulative and dangerous individual who manipulated others in the dock to support him in these dreadful events. 'He has shown no sign of remorse but only contempt for these proceedings.' He added: 'Luke Harwood was the subject of beating, punching and kicking for a period of some two hours which left footmarks of his skull and head such that he had the appearance of the Elephant Man. 'He was a vulnerable victim. He weighed only seven stone, was eighteen and no match for any of you, let alone a joint group attack. 'He was completely at your mercy - he had been rendered completely helpless.' O'Toole was cleared of causing grievous bodily harm but convicted of perverting the course of justice and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Billy Duggan, 21, who was convicted of perverting the course of justice and conspiring to pervert the course of justice, was handed a two-year jail term, suspended for two years. He sobbed and shook before collapsing in the dock as he was told he will walk free. Luke, who was 5ft 7ins tall and weighed just seven stone, and was one of a family of six children and had a son who was eight months old when his father died. He had been living with his son and his mother but in the weeks before he had been arguing with his girlfriend and had asked to be re-housed by he council. On the night he died, Sunday May 27 last year, he moved to the room at the council bungalow at 72 Crow Lane, Romford, where Danby and the others lived. By chance, an 18 year-old girl visiting the house that evening saw Luke and claimed he had raped her two years before. Her complaint had been dropped after she was interviewed by police, who found her accusation was untrue. Danby took a photograph of his on his mobile and showed it to the girl to confirm it was the man she claimed had raped her before he launched his ferocious two hour assault.
Reported by This is 6 hours ago.