A selfie of three smirking men was released by the Cumbria police after they received their sentences for killing the 14 year-old Jordan Watson in June last year. The photo was taken a few hours before they executed their plan to kill Watson.
Daniel Johnston, George Thomson, and Brahn Finley posed for a photo in Thomson's room before they head off to lure Watson to the Upperby Cemetery in Carlisle where he is to be killed. According to The Guardian, Thomson's plan on killing Watson was entirely fueled by his obsession with Watson's 14 year-old girlfriend and would not stop until he gets Watson "out of the picture".
14 year-old Watson received "brutal and sustained attack" which caused his death. As reported by Mail Online, Watson was stabbed in the head and the neck. His body was eventually found by a dog walker. All three men received sentences with more than 10 years in jail.
According to an investigating officer, Detective Superintendent Andrew Slattery, the attack was devised by Thomson which was later participated by Johnston and Finley as way of payment for their debt to Thomson. "For anyone to die in these circumstances is appalling, but this pre-meditated murder was carried out on a small 14-year-old boy", Det. Slattery said.
Johnston was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison while Thomson and Finley were found guilty of murder and received life imprisonment sentence with Finley to serve for at least 14 years in prison and 27 years for Thomson.
According to BBC, Mr Justice Green called Thomson's actions as "evil" after they found out that he went on a driving lesson the day after he killed Watson which suggested lack of guilt or remorse on his part. After killing Watson, the authorities found almost 70 different kinds of weapons under Thomson's bed.
After the sentencing, Jordan Watson's parents released a statement expressing how difficult the past few months after his death were to the family. "Jordan was full of fun and was loved by his family, particularly his younger sister which he was very protective of. We have our own special memories of Jordan which no one can take away from us.
"For the past seven months we have had so many unanswered questions. Every day we question why the life of our 14-year-old child was taken in such a cruel and violent way. We will never see our child grow up and live a full life. No sentence will ever truly reflect the deep loss we feel for losing our child Jordan", Mike and Lisa Watson stated.
Det. Slattery stated that Watson looked up to Thomson who promised him huge cash after he told him a story of his illicit business. Watson went to the cemetery for a bogus meet up hoping to get home with a huge amount of money.
