A court in Britain today sentenced three people to life for beating a disabled young man to death over a stg£5 bet.
Father-of-two William Hughes (22) and Marcus Miller (16) had admitted the murder, while Stephen Bonallie (17) denied the charge.
Police issue photographs of (Top to bottom): Marcus Miller (16), William Hughes (17) and Stephen Bonallie (22) sentenced to life for the murder of a 23-year-old with an IQ of 79.
Brent Martin (23) was chased by the three for a mile-and-a-half across Sunderland's Town End Farm estate in August and repeatedly punched, kicked, stamped on and head-butted. The three had bet £5 to see who could knock him out first.
After beating Mr Martin, who the court heard had an IQ o f 79, the trio posed for pictures.
A postmortem showed Mr Martin suffered 18 blows to the head and neck in what Judge John Milford said was "sadistic conduct on an extremely vulnerable victim".
He lifted a ban on identifying the two teenage killers and ruled all three must serve minimum terms of between 15 and 22 years.
Judge Milford said Mr Martin was a "gentle and caring person" who had a long history of mental health and learning difficulties.
When he left in-patient hospital treatment in May last year, he looked for friends his own age and spent £3,000 he had saved during his nine years in hospital trying to "buy" them.
"Sadly, he made poor choices," the judge said.
Miller and Bonallie were trained boxers, who knew the force of their actions, the court heard.
Bu Judge Milford said Hughes, the eldest, was the ringleader. He told Bonallie to catch Mr Martin when he ran off at one point, and delivered the last blow when he kicked his victim, who was by this time lying unconscious on the floor.
In a final indignity, the accused pulled down his trousers and underpants. The judge told them: "You seemed in a state of some elation."
Mr Martin suffered catastrophic brain damage and died in hospital, surrounded by his family, including his mother and twin sister Danielle.
PA