Lukasz Furmanek death: Youths' prison term upheld over murder
A teenager jailed after one man was killed and another left fighting for his life cannot complain about his punishment, top judges ruled.
Sadam Khan Essakhil, aged 17, was convicted of the murder of Lukasz Furmanek, 24, and the attempted murder of Radoslaw Dudek, 31.
He was locked up for life and ordered to serve at least 19 years behind bars at Birmingham Crown Court in January.
Abdullah Atiqzoy, 18, of Elizabeth Street, Oldbury, was convicted of the same crimes and got life with a minimum 26 years.
The victims had spent the night of May 30 last year at a Polish club in Handsworth, London's Appeal Court heard this week.
They were walking along Grove Lane in the early hours when they encountered Essakhil and Atiqzoy.
'Within 30 seconds' both were lying on the road with savage knife wounds, Mr Justice Goss told the court.
Mr Furmanek died at the scene, while Mr Dudek narrowly survived the attack.
The prosecution case was that Essakhil, of Hob Moor Road, Small Heath, and Atiqzoy, acted together as part of a joint enterprise.
Both were armed with a knife and 'intended to attack and kill anyone they met'.
They did just that to 'the very first people they encountered on the street that night'.
CCTV footage showed him delivering a hard kick to Mr Furmanek's head as he lay on the ground dying.
Both killers claimed self-defence but the jury did not believe them.
The judge who jailed the pair said both played a 'full and willing part' in the crimes and neither showed 'any real remorse'.
Lawyers for Essakhil argued his minimum jail term should have been lower, given his youth.
"Nineteen years is really far too long for him and his circumstances," claimed his barrister.
But Mr Justice Goss said: "Although it was a very long sentence for a man of Essakhil's age, it was not in our judgment wrong in principle or manifestly excessive. Accordingly this appeal against sentence is dismissed," concluded the judge, who was sitting with Lady Justice Sharp and Mrs Justice Jefford.
Atiqzoy's brother Feizullah Atiqzoy, 25, of Swan Crescent, Oldbury, got a four-year jail term after being convicted of assisting an offender.
After the trio were sentenced earlier this year police welcomed the life terms handed to Essakhil and Abdullah Atiqzoy.
