Connor Brown murder: The heartbreaking statement from Connor's devastated family read to the judge before killers were sentenced

Leighton Barrass, 20, was sentenced to life after he was found guilty of murder – and will serve a minimum of 20 years behind bars.

Ally Gordon, also 20, was found not guilty of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and possession of a bladed weapon – he was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

There were gasps in the courtroom as Gordon’s sentence was read out.

Before Honourable Mr Justice Lavender made his final decision on what sentence to give each of Connor’s killers, the 18-year-old’s devastated family spoke of how they will never hear their son’s laugh again and how they have been robbed of seeing the teenager grow up.

They said Connor’s death has left a void in their lives which will never be filled and hope lessons can be learned ‘that it is never justified to carry a knife’.

A statement from Connor’s mum Tanya Brown, on behalf of her and husband Simon Brown, said: “Connor was murdered on February 24, 2019, and since then our lives have been devastated.

“Myself, Simon, Connor and our daughter Ellen have always been a very close loving family and Connor's death has left a void in our lives that can never be repaired.

“Every day Connor is in our thoughts, I miss seeing his smile, hearing his laugh and shouting at him for keeping his shoes on in the house - it's the little things that hit us hard.

“Our daughter Ellen has lost her big brother. Over the past months, we drive Ellen to her counselling weekly. Ellen is 14 years old, her fourteenth birthday was one week after Connor's death, a birthday no 14 year old should have to go through.

“I have also started therapy and Simon and I both are on medication to help us sleep. I sometimes feel like I'll never sleep normally again.

“I struggle to put into words what effect Connor's death has had on us as a family, we have had a lot of support from family, friends and the community which has only highlighted how devastated people have felt as a result of Connor's death.

“We are in the process of moving house, it is a struggle daily in our home as I keep waiting for Connor to walk in the door.

“We have sat the past few weeks listening to the last moments of Connor's life. It has been like reliving the first few days of Connor's death. There has been no remorse shown by the ones responsible, they still have their lives and have robbed my son of his.

“We as parents will never see our son married, we'll never hold his children and we will never hear his laugh or see his smile, the smile that lit up every room.

“There is some comfort that justice has been served.

“We can only hope that lessons will have been learned from this case that it is never justified to carry a knife. No parent should have to suffer what we have and will continue to suffer.”