R v Brown & Shirley sentencing remarks
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 25 March 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Sentencing Remarks |
| Court | Crown Court |
R. V. BROWN AND SHIRLEY
SENTENCING REMARKS
HHJ LUCRAFT QC
1. On Friday 4th March 2022, Kemar Brown you were convicted by the jury of the
murder of Kyrell Matthews. Phylesia Shirley you were convicted of manslaughter.
Brown you were also convicted of causing or allowing serious injury to Kyrell over the
month before his death. Shirley you pleaded guilty to that offence and also to
causing or allowing Kyrell’s death before the trial commenced. I must now sentence
you.
2. In the course of the trial still images and short movie clips were shown of Kyrell
Matthews. Kyrell was born on 19th September 2017. He was just a month over his
second birthday when he was killed. The photos and video clips taken in the course
of his short life show him to be a bright and bubbly little boy. His father and many of
his extended family will mourn his loss.
3. I have read victim personal statements from Kyle Matthews and Karl Matthews. I
include two short extracts. Kyle says:
“The loss of Kyrell is something that we will never get over and we will have
to learn to live with it. The pain we feel everyday cannot be explained and
we are left with a huge hole in our hearts. Kyrell was a happy, playful and
loved little boy and he was taken from us in the cruellest of ways. I trusted
that when he was not with me and my family, he was in a safe place with his
mother and her partner, but clearly that was not the case.”
Karl says:
“We as a family are totally broken still. Kyrell was a member of an
extensive family. He did not belong to just his mother. He was not a piece
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