'How dare you take my boy away from me?…' grieving mum addresses killer in emotional courtroom scenes

As Justina Bobmanuel sat yards away from the man whose senseless act took away her son, she struggled to hold back her emotions. Fighting back tears, she admirably and courageously laid out the horrendous impact of the loss of her son, Zikel Bobmanuel.

Rumaal Ingram had no choice but to listen to her heartfelt words, as he sat enclosed in the dock, within one of Minshull Street Crown Court’s Victorian court rooms. A room which has heard decades of testimony, but none are likely to have been more emotionally charged than this.

On Saturday, March 25 last year, Justina left her home to find her son lay in the street, dying. He had been shot by Ingram, his half-brother.

READ MORE: Man who shot dead his half-brother Zikel Bobmanuel in the street jailed for life

The spark for the appalling killing appeared to be a petty row over some trainers. Justina says she still struggles to comprehend how her son, a dad whose youngest child was just weeks old at the time, could have his life robbed over something so minor.

“How can someone lose their life over trainers?,” she said, addressing Ingram in court. “Even after 12 months the pain is stronger than ever before. I will never be the same person again. So many lives have been destroyed from his horrendous act of violence. How dare you take my boy away from me? I can never get my beautiful boy back.”

More than a year on, as Ingram was jailed for life for manslaughter, Justina says she is finding it difficult to process the tragedy of what happened to 32-year-old Zikel. She said: “I am still struggling to process what has happened to my child. I am struggling to come to terms with his death.

“My heart has shattered into pieces. I am so desperate to be with my son. Every day I am unable to speak to him or hold him. The pain just gets stronger. I cannot even go down the street where it happened. I cannot even look in that direction because all I see is my son lying there.

“I don’t know whether to move to stay. I just hope he didn’t suffer. I feel like all my neighbours are watching and looking at me, so I isolate myself. I just want to be close to my son. I can’t think straight. I am not motivated to do anything since I have lost my beautiful boy.

“I am struggling to be the strong woman that everybody sees me as. I am struggling to hold it together.” Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Mr Bobmanuel had been in dispute with a third man, Emmanuel Onasanya. He ran a business on Instagram, cleaning trainers for a fee.

He met Ingram through that venture and then came into contact with Mr Bobmanuel, cleaning trainers belonging to both men. Mr Onasanya claimed he was owed money by Mr Bobmanuel after cleaning five pairs of his trainers. He claimed Mr Bobmanuel 'wasn't very pleased' after being told he was being charged the full price of £30 a pair, rather than £20 - a discounted fee they were said to have agreed on in advance.

Mr Onasanya said he was charging full price due to an alleged delay in payment. He later informed Ingram about the dispute. The three then met up on March 25. Ingram armed himself and was driven to the scene by Mr Onasanya.

Less than a minute after he got out of the car, Ingram had fired the gun. He denied murder, arguing he didn't intend to kill or seriously harm Mr Bobmanuel.

In court, Mr Onasanya maintained he had no idea that Ingram had a gun or that he knew a shooting was to take place. He said he did not want Mr Bobmanuel to be hurt, and said he asked Ingram to accompany him ‘in case Zikel tried anything’. Mr Onasanya, 33, of John Beeley Avenue, Openshaw, was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.

At Ingram’s sentencing hearing, Justina said: “I need to know why my son lost his life for something so trivial. I need answers from Rumaal and Emmanuel. Not one of them tried to help him.” As Ingram begins his life sentence, Justina and her family are left to pick up the pieces of a heinous crime which left Mr Bobmanuel’s children without their father.

Ingram, 36, of Bucklow Avenue, Fallowfield, was acquitted of murder, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He was jailed for life, to serve a minimum term of 16 years in prison.