London - A man was jailed for life by a British court yesterday for stabbing a 12-year-old boy to death in London. Edward Crowley had already pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey in central London to murdering Diego Pineiro-Villar at a busy junction in Covent Garden last May.
"Diego had sustained over 20 stab wounds inflicted by Crowley in a frenzied attack which, through investigation, I believe was premeditated and planned," Chief Insp David Shipperlee told reporters outside the court afterwards.
The court heard Crowley had become obsessed with the boy, who had dual British-Spanish nationality, after befriending him in a playground. He had been arrested the previous December for harassing Diego, but had been freed on bail a few months later, despite objections from police and prosecuters.