Statement from the family of Junior Osborne

Following today’s sentencing, the family of Junior Osborne have released the following statement:

“Junior was a family man who’ll be missed by all of us. He was born and grew up in Montserrat in the Caribbean and loved his sports.

“He came to the UK in 1997 after the volcano on the island started to erupt two years before, meaning he had to flee his home. He left his family behind and came to the UK to rebuild his life – a life that was cruelly taken away from him.

“While life wasn’t easy, he had a family and children who loved him. He was a smart person who would go above and beyond to help others and made plenty of friends along the way.

“While he wasn’t perfect, he didn’t deserve to die in such a tragic and awful way. He was taken from us in cold blood. The loss of Junior has left a huge void for all of us and a huge hole in our hearts. He was a much-loved husband, father, brother and stepfather.

“His children won’t get to see him again and he won’t get to see his daughter graduate or be able to walk her down the aisle.

“The footage of his final moments has been difficult for us to see. While we’ve got justice for Junior, no sentence is going to bring him back. However, we hope the streets are a safer place now those who took him from us won’t be able to roam the streets any time soon.”

Junior Osborne