Court of Appeal cuts sentence of teenager who killed Northampton's Louis Ryan Menezes

A teenager who was jailed for over nine years for killing Northampton's Louis Ryan Menezes has had his sentence reduced at the Court of Appeal.

Amari Smith, formerly of Penfold Close, stabbed 17-year-old Louis in the heart in a sudden confrontation on Drayton Walk, Kingsthorpe, in May 2018.

Smith, who was 18 when he was jailed, was convicted of manslaughter in September last year and sentenced to nine years and four months in a youth detention centre.

But on Friday (August 21), the Court of Appeal quashed Smith's sentence and reduced his jail term down to eight years.

Offenders in the UK are able to serve half their sentence "on license", meaning they are released under conditions and police supervision, and can be sent back to prison if they break these terms.

It means, combined with the 16 months Smith had already spent in custody in the run up to his sentencing, Smith could be released from youth detention in as much as 18 months.

It is understood that Smith's barrister, Mr Paul Mendel QC, argued his client's sentence was "manifestly excessive" and he had acted in self-defence when he killed Louis.

In 2019, a jury found that Smith - who was 17 at the time - killed Louis Ryan Menezes in a sudden confrontation on Drayton Walk.

The two boys had previously argued with each other over "some comments made on social media", and witnesses described how they "got in each others' faces".

But the verbal argument turned deadly when Smith pulled out a hidden kitchen knife and stabbed Louis once in the heart before running form the street.

Louis, now fatally injured, was helped to a nearby staircase by a friend but died soon after. He was 17.

Smith later told the jury he believed Louis was about to stab him first, and evidence proved Louis had his own knife tucked into his waistband when he died.

Immediately afterwards, Smith fled the scene and was able to successfully dispose of his clothes and the knife, which have never been recovered.

At court, Smith was acquitted of murder but unanimously convicted of manslaughter by a jury.

In her sentencing in May 2019, Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking called the attack a "genuine but mistaken and unreasonable" belief that he was defending himself, and handed him a sentence of nine years and four months.

This itself was calculated from a starting point of 14 years, which was at the very top of the range of sentences for manslaughter.

But following a two hour hearing on Friday, the Court of Appeal ruled to reduce Smith's sentence down to eight years.

A transcript of the justices' remarks will reportedly be made available in four to six weeks' time.

Louis Ryan Menezes, 17, was an aspiring motorbike mechanic and had been in Northampton that weekend to spend a night with his friends.

When his family last saw him, the teenager was "bubbly and happy" and looking forward to his weekend.

His last words to his mother Cheri, who dropped him off in Drayton Walk just hours before the stabbing, were: "I love you, mum."