Three teenage girls have been sentenced to jail for the murder of a 75-year-old man described as “particularly vulnerable” in a random street assault captured on a mobile device. The victim, Fredi Rivero, a Bolivian national, was attacked in Islington, north London, on February 27 and succumbed to his injuries the following day. The incident occurred when the girls, aged 14, 16, and 17 at the time, disembarked from a bus and encircled Mr. Rivero near a bus stop on Seven Sisters Road.
During the attack, the girls, now aged 15, 17, and 17, physically assaulted Mr. Rivero, with one of them recording the violence on her phone. CCTV footage presented in court showed the girls alighting from a bus, one of them carrying a bottle of vodka. Initially, Mr. Rivero gestured peace to them, but the situation escalated as they engaged in physical aggression towards him.
The court viewed mobile phone footage revealing one of the girls forcibly removing Mr. Rivero’s glasses, followed by a punch that caused him to fall backward. The prosecution characterized the assault as an unprovoked act of violence against a defenseless elderly man due to his age and frail health. The prosecution alleged that the oldest girl delivered the fatal blow.
Authorities responded to the disturbance at 11:25 pm and discovered Mr. Rivero unconscious with severe head trauma and in cardiac arrest. He was rushed to the Royal London Hospital, where medical assessments confirmed a traumatic brain injury, ultimately leading to his demise. The court also mentioned a prior incident involving the 15-year-old girl, who received a referral order for assaulting a homeless woman in a separate case.
In sentencing, Judge Judy Khan KC condemned the girls for their merciless attack on Mr. Rivero, highlighting their disregard for his pleas to go home. The judge noted the existence of other violent videos on one of the girls’ phones, indicating a troubling pattern of aggression. She emphasized the traumatic backgrounds of the girls but emphasized the cruelty of their actions towards a helpless elderly man.
Carla Rivero, Mr. Rivero’s daughter, expressed her grief in a victim impact statement, emphasizing her father’s gentle nature and the injustice of his untimely death caused by the girls’ heartless actions. The three girls, who had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, were collectively sentenced to nine years in prison, with individual detention terms of four years, three-and-a-half years, and two-and-a-half years.
Detective Inspector Devan Taylor, who oversaw the investigation, condemned the unprovoked attack on Mr. Rivero by the teenage girls, labeling their filming of the assault as despicable. He appreciated the public’s assistance in providing aid to Mr. Rivero and crucial witness statements that facilitated the girls’ swift arrest.