Teenager jailed for life for murder of boy, 16, at house party

A teenager who stabbed Mikey Roynon, 16, to death with a “zombie knife” has been jailed for life. 

Shane Cunningham, 16, fatally stabbed Mikey Roynon in the neck with a large hunting-style knife during a 16th birthday house party in Bath, Somerset in June 2023. 

Mr Justice Saini sentenced him to life in jail with a minimum sentence of 16 years before he could be released for parole after he was convicted of murder. 

His co-accused – Cartel Bushnell and Leo Knight, both 16 – were convicted of manslaughter after being acquitted of the more serious charge.

A judge sentenced Bushnell to nine years of youth detention, while Knight was given nine-and-a-half years’ youth detention. 

The judge ruled that all three could be identified despite their age after an application by the PA news agency.

Cunningham had claimed he was acting in self-defence, claiming during the trial that Mikey had swung a knife towards friends in the garden of the property. But the jury saw through his story following a trial at Bristol crown court.

Mikey collapsed on the driveway with heavy bleeding from a single knife wound to his his neck.

Police, paramedics and doctors soon arrived at the scene in Weston, a north-west suburb of Bath, but Mikey died. 

The defendants ran off and threw away their weapons, two of which were recovered by police. 

Detective Inspector Mark Newbury said: “That three boys armed themselves with knives to go to a teenage girl’s 16th birthday party is utterly unconscionable. 

“Mikey went to that party to socialise and to have a good time. Instead, he was attacked with a horrifying weapon, suffered a catastrophic injury and tragically lost his life. 

“Mikey was a much loved teenage boy and his family have been left totally devastated. 

“They have shown incredible bravery and have courageously spoken out against knife crime since his death, which is something they should never have to do.

“Since Mikey’s death, other young lives have been lost across our policing area and as a result we have launched a proactive operation to tackle and disrupt serious violence and knife crime involving young people. 

“However, we know police enforcement alone won’t solve the problem and we’re working closely with our local authority partners, our colleagues in education and health and the Violence Reduction Partnership to identify the root causes and divert young people away from criminality. 

“Our communities are also key and we’d like to encourage parents to talk to their children about knife crime – to make sure that they understand the terrible consequences carrying a knife can have and also how to report if they have concerns about someone they know carrying a knife.”