03 February 2023 , 17:50
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A "gentle giant" murderer has been jailed for life for fatally stabbing a man in a row over the victim's girlfriend.
Mason Mills' victim Kieron Moore had attacked him with a plank of wood, allegedly thinking he had been flirting with his partner - who had that night tried to end the relationship.
Mr Moore, 20, had been out drinking on the night of his murder.
His girlfriend had asked him to go round to her house to pick up his things, which she had packed up.
He arrived, high on drink and drugs, including cocaine, and went to attack Mills, 25, who had been smoking outside his sister's house next door.
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His first attack was with punches and kicks.
Kieron Moore had attacked his killer with a plank of wood before getting stabbed (Leicester Mercury / BPM Media)At one point Mr Moore ripped a plank off the garden fence around the two properties and hit Mills with it.
Later the defendant went to get a kitchen knife and hid it in his waistband, thinking Mr Moore would attack again.
Mills stabbed Mr Moore three times to his abdomen.
One of the wounds cut his lung and windpipe, leaving Mr Moore bleeding to death.
Police at Marriott Road, Saffron Lane, Leicester, after Kieron Moore was fatally stabbed (Leicester Mercury / Chris Gordon)The knife handle broke off during the final stab.
Today a jury at Leicester Crown Court found Mills guilty of murder and possessing a blade, unlawfully, both of which he had denied.
During the sentencing hearing which followed this afternoon, a victim personal statement from Mr Moore's mum, Amanda Moore, was read out.
She described how the murder in November 2021 had devastated her family.
Flowers messages and tributes left at the scene (Leicester Mercury / Chris Gordon)She said: "My world came crashing down around me when I received a text message to say my son Kieron was dead.
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"I went into a panic, hoping it was a sick joke. I ran to my son only to see him being worked on by the paramedics.
"It was a sight no parent should every see. Losing Kieron has destroyed our happy family life.
"It's heartbreaking to tell Kieron's nephews and nieces that Kieron isn't coming back. They have constant nightmares and wake up asking for Kieron back."
Mills was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court (BPM Media)She said Kieron had been planning to have a 21st birthday party and the family had to have a celebration of his life on his birthday without him.
Ms Moore said: "It was a very emotional and devastating day - he had his whole life ahead of him."
She said Kieron was the youngest of her six children.
She said: "They miss him every day and we live right by where the attack happened and are reminded continuously of what happened that fateful day.
Mr Moore's family celebrated his 21st birthday without him (Leicester Mercury / Chris Gordon)"Still now we are struggling to cope and accept that Kieron is actually gone. My heart breaks every second of every day.
"I wake up thinking it was all a bad dream and then reality hits. Nothing in any of our lives will ever be the same again.
"Kieron will be forever in our broken hearts. Will will never be able to come to terms with the loss of our beloved Kieron."
Balraj Bhatia KC, representing Mills, of Wigston, said his client had no previous convictions and that there was "significant provocation".
Mills was described by his solicitor as a "gentle giant" who did not start the fight (Leicester Mercury / Chris Gordon)He described Mills as a "gentle giant" who did not start the fight.
He said: "Mr Moore's behaviour goes above and beyond provocation and shows a mindset that was both aggressive and intent on violence that night. Mason Mills did not go looking for trouble and did nothing to invite the sort of aggression and hostility he received from Mr Moore.
"The stabbing took place in the context of what was clearly defence and the jury's conclusion was it went beyond self-defence."
Judge Timothy Spencer KC, sentencing, said Mills was "perfectly capable" of going into his sister's home and staying away from Mr Moore instead of arming himself and going back outside with the knife.
He told him: "Kieron Moore was 20 years of age when you murdered him.
Whatever may have been his shortcomings in life, no one deserves that.
"He had his whole life ahead of him. No parent should see her son dying or dead just around the corner from where she lived."
He said the aggravating factor was that the murder happened in public when youngsters and Mr Moore's girlfriend were watching. He said he accepted Mr Moore started the aggression and said that was "significant mitigation".
Mills will have to serve a minimum of 21 years in custody before he is eligible for parole.