Jack Woodley Wiki

                                  Jack Woodley  Biography

Who is Jack Woodley ?

Jack Woodley was fatally stabbed after being ‘surrounded and cut off’ by a gang of youngsters who chased him through an alleyway in Houghton le Spring, Sunderland, last year.

Ten teenagers who murdered an 18-year-old ‘solely for thrill and pleasure’ after attacking him as he was returning home from an amusement park were sentenced today to life in prison.

Prosecutors said the group had been out “looking for serious trouble that day” and tried to “create a conflict” with Mr Woodley at the festival as they “looked for any excuse to attack someone”.

One of the teenagers first put Mr Woodley in a headlock

One of the teenagers first put Mr Woodley in a headlock and beat him, before the others “joined in”, the court heard. Jurors were told that one of them was heard yelling ‘get the chopper’, referring to the knife, in the mobile phone footage of the incident.

Today, the 15-year-old who inflicted the fatal wound by stabbing Mr. Woodley in the back was detained for a minimum of 17 years.

Judge Rodney Jameson QC sentenced the other nine defendants, aged between 14 and 18, to minimum sentences of between eight and 15 years’ imprisonment. He told them that if they are later released, they will remain on leave for the rest of their lives. He said they had shown ‘repentance’, but ‘repentance is not remorse’.

The total minimum terms for all defendants add up to 124 years and six months.

Murder

Nine of the youths, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had denied murder and manslaughter.

One pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and admitted he stabbed Mr Woodley but denied he intended to kill him, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Mark McKone QC told the jury that Jack and the gang of youngsters had been at the amusement park all night, before the attack took place outside The Britannia Inn pub in Houghton.

Attack

Mr McKone said: “The attack took place outside the pub, but the group also chased Jack down an alley at the side of the pub. Many people in the pub saw the attack.

At the start of the trial in March, prosecutor Mark McKone QC said that while only one young man stabbed Mr Woodley, the other nine were guilty due to the “joint venture concept”.A jury convicted the 10 defendants of murder in June.Nine of them intend to appeal against their convictions, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed this week.

In sentencing the group, the judge said: “No sentence can restore Jack to his family and loved ones, or lessen the pain they will endure now and in the future.””It may seem unfair that you can live in freedom while still young, while Jack can’t because of what you did.”

Judge Jameson said the group had attacked Woodley “solely for the thrill and pleasure of inflicting serious injury on a completely innocent and randomly selected stranger.”The judge told the defendants that the violence inflicted on Mr. Woodley “while short-lived, was appalling” and that they all “played a part in causing Jack’s death”.

Jack Woodley Family

The teenager is survived by his father, John Woodley, his mother Zoey McGill, his stepfather Chris McGill and his brothers Jayden, Jenson and Tyler. Speaking during an earlier court hearing this week, Zoe said the whole family would be “forever haunted by how horrific Jack’s injuries were”.

Mrs McGill said that Jack had been looking to the future, adding: “This has ruined our family’s lives and life will never be the same without Jack. “In an earlier statement, she told the court: ‘Jack was my reason for living and being successful in life. From the moment Jack was born, he brought light and love to all of us.

Quick Facts

• Jack Woodley fatally stabbed after being ‘surrounded and isolated’ by a gang who chased him down an alley
• He had been due to start a job the Monday after he was attacked and was on way to pick up keys for a new flat
• Prosecutors said the group had gone out ‘looking for serious trouble that day’ and tried to ‘create conflict’
• Judge said they’d shown ‘regret’, but ‘regret is not remorse’ as he gave minimum terms adding up to 124 years