Sheryar Khan said he would only be released if the Parole Board deemed it safe – and when he was, he would be on license for life. He was convicted of Mr Tordoff’s murder on Thursday afternoon as the fifth day of jury deliberations came to a close. The 17-year-old was also found guilty of wounding with intent Mr Tordoff’s close friend Matthew Page, who is also known as Matthew Lowther. Sheryar’s older brother Arbaz Khan, 22, of Yew Tree Avenue, and Arbaz’s friend Mohammed Adil Hussain, 18, of Kite Mews, Lower Grange, were both found guilty of Mr Manslaughter. Tordoff and guilty of unlawfully wounding Mr. Lowther. . Khan was sentenced to a total of 14 years, two-thirds of which he will serve before being released on licence, while Hussain was sentenced to nine years in a Young Offenders Institution. The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Richard Mansell QC, told the defendants as he sentenced them: “Kian Tordoff was just 19 when he went on a night out in Bradford on Saturday, October 9, last year. He never returned home that night, his life was cut short in a reckless knife attack carried out by you, Sheryar Khan, with the encouragement of Arbaz Khan and Muhammad Adil Hussain.’ He said Arbaaz Khan bore “heavy responsibility” for what happened after violence initially escalated at Westgate in Bradford city centre. It came after he approached a man called ‘Chaser’ who was causing trouble for his younger brother and a fight broke out. Others took part in scenes the judge described as “disgraceful”. He said Khan was humiliated and wasn’t willing to let it lie or involve the police. Judge Mansell said he went home to retrieve a knife, which he intended to take back to Bradford to use against those responsible, while Hussain also armed himself with a knife taken from his home. It was not clear where he had got the knife and Seryar Khan’s knife. Back in Bradford, Sheryar and Arbaz Khan’s brother Aizaz Khan – who was acquitted of murder and manslaughter – had driven his BMW X5 a few meters into Rawson Square, where Mr Tordoff and Mr Page were removing pieces of cardboard. It was there, the judge said, that Arbaz Khan shouted words to the effect of “we’ve got you now, you little ba****” when he identified some of those involved in the earlier incident. Arbaz Khan, his brother Sheryar and Hussain got out of the car, guns ready, as it was still moving. Mr Tordoff instinctively ran, as did others, but was chased by the younger Khan brother, who launched the “ferocious” attack with both guns as he was defenseless. He ran for his life back to others in the group and the judge said: “The footage of those moments of him fighting for his life and his friends desperately trying to help him will haunt Kian Tordoff’s family and the young people who were present in Rawson Square that night for many years to come.” Sheryar Khan then saw Mr Page and attacked him with a knife. He was lucky to survive. Addressing Arbaz Khan, the judge said: “Although you did not stab or injure anyone, your actions in arming yourself and arranging for your younger brother Sheryar to be armed clearly encouraged him to get out of that vehicle and attack a or more persons responsible. “As for you, Mohammed Adil Hussain, you willingly armed yourself and jumped out of that car to play your part in the attack. “You chased Matthew Page down North Parade with your knife pointed at him, although when he turned back you didn’t chase him. “While you did not stab or injure anyone, your actions in arming yourself and jumping out of that BMW at the same time as Sheryar and Arbaz Khan clearly acted as some further encouragement to Sheryar to commit the attacks he carried out.” Referring to the aftermath, he said CCTV evidence showed none of them appeared remorseful or concerned for those who had been injured. Judge Mansell rejected evidence given by Arbaz Khan about his younger brother sitting with his head down and crying on the return journey, describing it as “totally misleading”. He said the priority when they got back into the car was to leave the area and dispose of the weapons somewhere they would never be found. “The CCTV footage which charts the movements of the BMW proves that each of you disposed of these weapons in or near Lister Park,” the judge said. In sentencing Sheryar Khan, the judge said the ferocity of the attack, captured graphically on CCTV, was an aggravating factor, as was the presence of other young people who saw the violence and its aftermath, including Mr Tordoff dying in front of them . Disposing of weapons and laundering clothes to hide evidence were also aggravating factors. Judge Mansell said that while he accepted that the 17-year-old, who was 16 at the time, had no specific intention to kill Kian Tordoff, the attack was so vicious and sustained that there could be mitigation from a lack of intention to kill off She found little evidence that his psychosis had driven his behavior and said the jury had rightly rejected his claim that the voices in his head were telling him to do it. “The only voices telling you to behave the way you did came from your older brother, Arbaz. said the judge. However, he said he would not completely ignore his mental disorder and that his development as a young man had been “severely damaged”. The judge said Arbaz’s elder brother’s influence could not be underestimated. He concluded that the combination of age, immaturity and mental disorder significantly reduced his culpability. Judge Mansell said the minimum term he must spend in custody to be eligible to apply for parole will be 16 years, reduced to 15 years and 91 days to reflect days spent in custody. Arbaz Khan is said to have ‘deliberately encouraged’ his brother to attack one or more of those involved in the earlier Westgate incident. Aggravating factors included an element of premeditation, the presence of others who saw what happened and the disposal of weapons. The judge considered his relatively young age, his previous good character and evidence of positive good character as mitigating factors. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison for manslaughter and three years consecutively for unlawful wounding. Mohammad Adil Hussain is said to have played a “minor role” with a “distinct lack of appetite” for the match once it came to it. Judge Mansell said it must reflect the fact he was only 17 at the time of the offenses and reduced the sentence he would have received if he had been an adult by a third. He was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years for manslaughter, with a consecutive 18-month sentence for unlawful wounding. The case prompted Judge Mansell to issue a warning about the dangers of knife crime. He said: “Unfortunately, cases like this where young men take up arms to take revenge or take the law into their own hands are not uncommon. A clear message of deterrence must be sent by the courts when offenses like this are committed, especially to young people and those responsible for them.” Speaking after the case, Detective Chief Inspector Marc Bowes, of West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Investigation Unit, said: “The attack on Kian and his friend was horrific in which a group of men attacked and murdered a young man with knife. “This case shows the terrible human cost of knife crime. Kian had his whole life ahead of him and it was brutally cut short by these three males who were out for revenge and pre-planned their attack by leaving the scene and returning armed with guns.”
