Making of a killer: The case of Lewis Thornton

Lewis Thornton's violent past can be traced back to his days as a teenage tearaway, when he was given an Asbo for bringing misery to the lives of residents.

This week he was jailed for 10 years for manslaughter after killing a man for his mobile phone.

It was the last in a string of violent robberies in chillingly similar circumstances which Thornton, now aged 24, has carried out over the years. He was brought to justice after the body of 54-year-old Stephen Phillips was found in his flat in March 2014.

He died after being attacked and pushed over by Thornton, who stole his Blackberry phone and hid it at his aunt's house in a slowcooker.

But it was just the culmination of a criminal career that dated back to his teens.

In 2008, at the age of 17, Thornton was part of a gang called The Rascals who terrorised the All Saints area of Wolverhampton.

Thornton's gang smashed windows, swore at police, harassed community groups and put fear into law-abiding citizens.

His string of convictions included robberies, an attempted robbery, affray, possession of a blade, assault by beating and even a common assault on his own father.

But in a crime that was to have echoes of the killing that he has now been jailed for, he punched a 16-year-old victim in the face as he demanded his phone on a bus in 2009.

When jailing him for manslaughter this week at Wolverhampton Crown Court , Judge John Wait told Thornton: "All of the offences you have committed before have had serious consequences, but in this case they were tragic."

A police source familiar with the case said: "It's a fine line between use of violence to commit a robbery and the amount of force used to kill somebody.

"Lewis Thornton's a career criminal who has stepped over the line, resulting in a tragic death. It's not surprising that it's come to this.

"He was still doing the same type of offending. At it's heart, this tragic case was a robbery where he's used force against a vulnerable person. I don't think this means the system has failed.

"The sentencings that didn't work for him would have worked for nine out of 10 people. It's as much down to the individual and their level of violence and their determination to be a criminal, as it is to the criminal justice system."

Councillor Andrew Johnson represents the WV2 area of the city where Thornton and The Rascals wreaked havoc.

Speaking to the Express & Star in 2008, Mr Johnson welcomed the Asbos and said the case would send out a strong message to others seeking to cause trouble.

Following this week's sentencing, he said: "Clearly this was someone who the system tried to help and correct. It obviously, and very tragically for the victim, did not work.

"I read the Express & Star story about his sentencing this week. It is diabolical that someone could be killed for their mobile phone. I guess it goes to show some people just cannot be helped and perhaps need to be locked up to protect society.

"However I don't think you can make any general conclusions about the effectiveness of Asbos – many of them do work and prevent future offending."

Wolverhampton North East MP, Emma Reynolds, said: "This is a shocking case. My deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Stephen Phillips.

"It is important that lessons are learnt about why someone with a string of convictions was able to commit this crime.

"However, Asbos were never intended to deal with serious violent crime, they were effective in dealing with low level disturbance and disorder. Instead questions need to be asked about how the escalating seriousness of Lewis Thornton's crimes were not addressed by the criminal justice system."