Tragic last walk home for murder victim Glynis

Little did 47-year-old Glynis Bensley know it was to be her final journey through Smethwick on that fateful day.

As she turned into Cheshire Road, she was attacked by a 13-year-old boy and fell to the ground after being punched.

The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was joined seconds later by his friend 20-year-old Zoheb Majid.

The pair had been out on the streets of the Smethwick - and they saw their chance to take her valuables.

As she lay dying on the floor the pair went through the helpless woman's clothes, even turning her over, to take anything of value - leaving her lying with her head in the gutter.

The youth admitted counts of robbery and manslaughter but denied murdering Miss Bensley.

Majid, of Cheshire Road, Smethwick, denied all of the charges.

But a jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court found the youth guilty of murder and Majid guilty of manslaughter and robbery.

The child is now awaiting sentence from Wolverhampton's top judge John Warner as one of the youngest ever to be convicted of murder in the West Midlands.

He was described in court as 'a stupid, impressionable little boy trying to impress his elders but not his betters'.

The pair, who were friends, met up on that fateful night when the boy was roaming around the streets and Majid was circling the streets on a bike.

They were captured on CCTV walking and cycling together before the attack.

After the killing, they both went to Victoria Park and met up with others. The teenager was described by the people there as in shock and shaking, muttering the words 'some madness happened'. He then started to cry.

The 13 year-old then went to the home of Tania Paulo.

She said during the course of the trial: "As I remember, he said he couldn't believe what had happened. It was like it hadn't sunk into him. What I was told that evening he had gone out with his friend. They were looking for somebody to rob.

"They came across this male looking person and they decided this was their target."

When asked about how the teenager appeared, she added: "It was like he didn't realise what he had done but his body was reacting, he was shaking.

Police said Miss Bensley had been in the 'wrong place at the wrong time.'

During the trial, which lasted more than a week, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told Miss Bensley was unlikely to have had any money on her and only had an old 'flip phone' worth less than £20.

On the day of the attack, she had been upbeat telling friends how much she was looking forward to becoming a volunteer at the British Heart Foundation, on Bearwood Road, for a second time.

Friends and family were left stunned by Miss Bensley's death and neighbours told of their shock that Miss Bensley, who lived in Rosefield Road, could be attacked and killed just yards from her home.

She was described as a quiet woman who would often be seen with her sister, who she looked very much alike.

Khalid Anayat, aged 27, who lived opposite the victim, said: "I saw her plenty of times walking down the street but I didn't know her.

"I used to see her with her sister. I think they might have been twins. They were quiet people. I was shocked when I found out what happened, I was trying to find out who it was."

Her friend of 20 years John Gough said he had been drinking with Miss Bensley just hours before her death.

"I am in total shock. Devastated. I can't understand how anyone would want to wish her any harm," he said.

"I expected to see her on September 4 because I left my paper in the pub and I thought she was going to bring it around for me."

The court was told Miss Bensley was one of nine children who were all very close, especially her brother Adrian and sister Dawn, who she lived with at Rosefield Road.

Mr Richard Atkins QC, prosecuting, told the court: "They left her dead or dying. They spared no thought for her.

"It was purely her misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The court heard that Miss Bensley had short hair and was mistaken for a man when she was found on the pavement.

When police arrived, it was clear nothing could be done to save her. Her lips had turned blue, she had a cut to the bridge of her nose and a footprint on her face.

Paramedics pronounced her dead in the early hours of September 4.

Mr Atkins said the teenager had previously been roaming around Smethwick and met up with Majid, who had been on a bike.

The pair, who knew each other, continued walking and cycling together around the area.

During the trial both he and Majid opted to not give evidence before the jury. They will be sentenced on April 17.