Boy Remanded On Ealing Riot Murder Charge

A 16-year-old boy has been remanded in custody after being charged with the murder of a man attacked during the London riots, Scotland Yard has said.

Richard Bowes, 68, died on Thursday after being assaulted during disorder in Ealing, west London, last Monday.

The boy, from Hounslow, has also been charged with violent disorder and four counts of burglary and will be held in secure accommodation until August 18.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the boy's mother was also charged with an act that tended to pervert the course of public justice.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed a 31-year-old woman from Hounslow, arrested at the same time at the scene, had been charged.

The boy appeared at Croydon Youth Court this morning, while his mother appeared at Croydon Magistrates' Court.

Daren Streeter, head of CPS London homicide unit, said last night: "The CPS has this evening authorised that a 16-year-old male should be charged with the murder of Richard Mannington Bowes .

"At this stage, there is a reasonable suspicion that the 16-year-old was responsible for the unlawful killing of Mr Bowes. It is clearly in the public interest that he be prosecuted for this offence."

Mr Bowes, who lived alone in Haven Green, Ealing, was placed on a life-support machine following the attack, which took place as violence spread through the capital.

A post-mortem examination revealed he died from head injuries.

On Saturday night around 100 people attended a vigil organised by churches in Ealing in Mr Bowes' memory.

It came a day after Ealing Council flew the Union Flag over its town hall at half-mast as a mark of respect.

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