A teenager who stabbed to death a musician described as “peaceful and caring” has been jailed.

       The 15 year old schoolgirl, who cannot be named because of her age, plunged a knife into the chest of Nimroy Hendricks in Crawley, West Sussex on 27 October 2020.

       The assailant, 14 at the time of the attack, admitted manslaughter and was jailed for nine years at Bristol Crown Court on Friday 4 March.

       She was known to Mr Hendricks.

       Medical experts found the girl was suffering a "significant abnormality of the mind" at the time of the attack shortly after 9pm.

       Mr Hendricks, known to friends and family as “Nim”, died shortly after he was stabbed in the chest.

       The girl was given a total sentence of nine years, comprising five years custody and a further four years on extended licence.

       The court accepted a plea to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

       Andy Wolstenholme, detective chief Inspector at the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: “The death of Nimroy Hendricks is heart-breaking, and the whole circumstances of this case are both complex and tragic; our thoughts are with everyone affected by the loss of Nim.

       “The acceptance of the plea for manslaughter was taken in light of all the available evidence from expert witnesses, and only after painstaking examination and discussion between Counsel, the CPS, the Police and Nim’s family.

       “I know that Nim’s family will never get over the devastating loss of a man who was so peaceful, selfless and caring.

       “He was a talented musician who loved life, and whose death was the tragic result of a knife taken from home, in hands and a location where it never should have been.

       “Those short moments have had an immeasurable effect on so many people who loved Nim, and many more who have heard his story and despaired at another death involving a knife.”