June 20th 2023.
Shiloh Pottinger, 20, was sentenced to 15 years in prison at Manchester Crown Court yesterday after being found guilty of manslaughter in the stabbing of 19-year-old Luke O'Connor. The incident occurred last year on Wilmslow Road in Fallowfield, south Manchester.
The court heard that the altercation was sparked when a friend of Luke's made a jokey remark about Shiloh's skateboard. Shiloh reacted violently and unpredictably. Instead of backing down, Luke stood up to Shiloh and even laughed. This infuriated Shiloh, who then used his skateboard to attack Luke before stabbing him with a 13-inch 'mafia stiletto' knife eight times.
The tragedy of Luke's death was felt deeply by his parents. His mother Carolyn O'Connor looked directly at Pottinger in the dock as she told the court: 'I refuse your name to pass my lips because you don't deserve it. Luke was the man you will never be. He was a gentle giant and had a heart of gold, and the kindest of souls.' His father Jason expressed his shock and disbelief and said that knives like the one used on his son had no place 'in a civilised society'.
The court also heard that after the attack, Pottinger had searched on the internet for 'how long do you serve for killing someone?' and 'how much time do you get for knife murder?'. Despite his claims that he had only brandished the knife because he was 'scared' and wanted to 'get away', Judge Nicholas Dean KC said that he had bought the knife as a 'sense of empowerment'.
Luke's family said in a statement outside court: 'We are truly devastated by this tragedy. Luke was loved by so many people, and he knew how much he was loved in return. We are relieved Shiloh Pottinger is now behind bars although his sentence in no way compares to our life sentence.'
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