Yahoo News 'Baby-faced' 16-year-old jailed after stabbing a man in the heart in broad daylight
A ‘baby-faced’ teenager has been jailed for life for killing a man he stabbed in the heart in broad daylight.
Fabio Serrano was 16-years-old when he launched a brutal attack on Frankie Cooper, 22, in the middle of Newcastle.
Serrano was with a group of friends when he saw Mr Cooper by chance and the pair became involved in a heated argument.
Mr Cooper threw a punch but missed Serrano before the teen, whose face was covered with a bandana, pulled out a knife and stabbed his victim in the heart.
Mr Cooper collapsed clutching his chest a short time later while making his way back to his flat in nearby Bewick Court.
He was later placed in an induced coma but he died in hospital five days after the attack.
Serrano has now been cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
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He has been sentenced to life with a minimum of five years.
Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Paul Waugh said Serrano was a ‘dangerous individual’ and deserved to be jailed for life.
He said: ‘Fabio Serrano was only 16-years-old when he committed this offence but he is a dangerous individual and the judge has quite rightly lifted reporting restrictions so he can be named.
‘Throughout interview he has shown no remorse, refused to take responsibility for his actions and lied to both police and a jury about exactly what he did that day.
‘He saw no problem with carrying a knife in the street and this incident showed he was not afraid to use it in a confrontation.
‘Newcastle has a reputation as one of the safest cities in the country but a knife in the wrong hands can have devastating consequences in just a split second.’
Mr Cooper’s family said in a statement: ‘The fact that he [Serrano] has only been convicted of manslaughter does hurt us.
‘He stabbed Frankie in the heart and there is no doubt in our minds that he should be going to jail for murder.
‘He may not have received the kind of sentence we wanted but he will have to live with what he did for the rest of his life. We hope Frankie’s death haunts him as much as it haunts our family.’
Dairan Browne, 19, who was with Serrano when the attack took place on February 20 last year was cleared of murder and manslaughter but admitted unlawful wounding with intent.
He was handed a 16 months sentence suspended for 24 months.
