Girl, 13, and Boy, 15, Found Guilty of Manslaughter After 80-Year-Old Dog Walker Dies Following Park Attack, Court Hears

• A 15-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl have been found guilty of manslaughter after an 80-year-old dog walker was attacked in a park in England
• Bhim Kohli was walking his dog Rocky at Franklin Park in Leicester before he was approached by the two teenagers and some of their friends, police said
• The victim died the following day on Sept. 2, 2024 from a neck injury that caused trauma to his spinal cord

Two teenagers have been convicted of manslaughter following the death of an 80-year-old man who was attacked while walking his dog in a park in England, according to a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service.

On Tuesday, April 8, a 15-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were found guilty of manslaughter “following a lengthy and complex trial” that lasted six weeks at Leicester Crown Court, a Leicestershire Police news release confirmed.

Bhim Kohli was attacked while walking his dog, Rocky, “in Franklin Park, Braunstone Town, during the early evening” on Sept. 1, 2024. He died the following day as a result of his injuries, police said.

“A 15-year-old boy was convicted for attacking and injuring Mr. Kohli. He was found not guilty of murder,” the release stated.

“A 13-year-old girl was convicted after she was found to have encouraged the incident by pointing out the victim, filming it on her mobile phone and laughing,” police added. “Due to the age of the defendants, they cannot legally be named.”

The girl was released on conditional bail, while the boy was remanded in custody, per the BBC.

Judge Justice Turner told the girl in court, “I want to make it absolutely crystal clear that the fact that bail is being granted should not be taken as any indication as to the sentence when the time comes,” the outlet reported.

The teenagers are due to be sentenced at Leicester Crown Court in May, police said in the release. The 15-year-old defendant was 14 at the time of the attack, and the 13-year-old was 12.

Police confirmed the 15-year-old boy had approached the victim minutes after he was seen walking to the entrance of the park from his nearby home at around 6:18 p.m. local time on the day he was attacked.

“It was claimed [the boy] was told the elderly dog walker was the man who had previously hit another teenager with a stick. This has never been proven to have occurred,” police said in the release.

The two suspects were with three friends, who “ran away from the area” while they stayed.

“As the boy got closer, he started shouting and being verbally aggressive towards Mr. Kohli. At this point the three friends ran away from the area. The 13-year-old girl remained, walking closely behind the boy,” the release stated.

Police said that “parts of the attack were filmed by the girl on her mobile phone, including footage of the boy slapping Mr. Kohli across the face with a [slide] while he was on his knees,” and “another clip also showed Mr. Kohli lying on his lefthand side on the grass.”

After the teenagers left the victim on the floor and ran out of the park at around 6:28 p.m., Kohli’s grandson then found him “still on the ground and in considerable pain.”

“They were also joined a short time later by Mr. Kohli’s daughter and other family members,” police said.

“Emergency services – police and paramedics – attended the scene and an account was given to them by Mr. Kohli in which he said he was attacked by a boy and had been punched and kicked,” the release continued.

“He also mentioned the boy had made a racist remark towards him,” police added, confirming that the victim was taken to hospital where he died the following day “from a neck injury that caused trauma to his spinal cord.” 

“He was also found to have suffered fractures to three of his ribs. It was found these injuries had been caused by the teenage boy during the attack,” the release stated.

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Local Detective Chief Inspector, Mark Sinski, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit Murder Investigation Team, said: “The circumstances surrounding this incident are truly tragic and heartbreaking,” per the police release.

“Bhim Kohli was simply doing what he did every day, walking his dog on the park that was just yards from his own front door,” he added. 

“But instead of being able to enjoy an evening stroll with Rocky on a warm summer’s day, he was confronted by a teenage boy, who was encouraged by a teenage girl, attacked him and left him in agony on the floor. Sadly, the resultant injuries were fatal and Mr. Kohli’s death has left not only a family grieving the loss of a beloved husband, father and grandfather but the wider community too,” Sinski continued.

“The age of the defendants in the case has added to the devastating circumstances surrounding this incident and complexities in the case. They will have to deal with the enormity that their actions resulted in a man losing his life and the consequences this now brings,” he concluded.