Bailey Atkinson: Seven teens jailed for Walsall town centre murder
Bailey Atkinson, 21, died after being attacked with blades and machetes.
Seven teenagers have been jailed for life for murdering a young man in Walsall town centre.
Bailey Atkinson, 21, died after being attacked with blades and machetes on 28 January 2023.
Despite open-heart surgery at the scene, he couldn't be saved.
Bailey had moved from Coventry two years earlier to try to escape a gang lifestyle, but sadly became embroiled in Walsall.
Today (24 May), seven people have been sentenced for his murder at Nottingham Crown Court.
- Benjamin Wilkes, 18, of Guild Avenue, Bloxwich
- Patrick Brookes, 18, of Hunter Crescent, Walsall
- Sonny Loveridge, 19, of Irvine Road, Bloxwich
- Ronan McCulloch, 18, of Livingstone Road, Bloxwich
Three 17-year-olds, who cannot be named, were also sentenced to a combined total of 139 years behind bars.
"Ferocious" attack
On the evening of 27 January 2023, Bailey was out with a female friend. A taxi dropped them in Walsall town centre and they were walking past the market stalls when a car swerved towards them.
Bailey told his friend to “run” as he also ran along the High Street.
There were two cars in convoy, a Toyota Verso and a Seat Leon, both had been stolen in previous days.
The nine occupants of both vehicles had met up on a supermarket car park shortly before they drove into the town centre looking for Bailey. It’s thought they sought him in retaliation for an attack two months previously.
They cornered Bailey by Lower Hall Lane and drove at him.
Bailey managed to escape, but the cars circled and caught up with him further along the High Street where six of the occupants got out and attacked Bailey with machetes and zombie knives.
His attackers got back in the cars leaving him on the floor, one even stopped to try to take a photo of Bailey on his mobile phone, as he lay bleeding on the floor.
Detective Inspector, Jim Mahon, said: "It was one of the most horrific pieces of CCTV I've ever seen.
"The police were on the scene within five minutes, so they were there to start CPR on Bailey and that was all recorded on body-worn cameras.
"So, the officers that had helped out with the CPR were present and to watch Bailey's last moments, is something that I think will haunt them for a long time."
Speaking of her son, mum Kerry said: "Bailey was a kind-hearted young man. He was the light of everybody's life.
"You always smiled when he was around because he used to make you laugh. He was so funny. Our hearts are broken that he's gone."