A TRAGIC teenager is facing 12 years behind bars after being convicted of murdering his father.

Luke Onyett, from Oak Road, Gravesend, won sympathy from a judge over a “wretched life” that led him into daily drinking sessions with his alcoholic father Michael and other older men.

In imposing a mandatory life sentence, Judge Andrew Patience, QC, said the usual starting point when stating how long the 18-year-old should serve before being considered for parole was 15 years.

But he added: “In light of the matters to which I have referred, I am going to order a lesser period than that. This is not to make light of your father’s life but to give a just reflection of the matters I have listed.”

As well as being “failed” by his father, they included Onyett being emotionally damaged and intellectually immature, making him more like a 14-year-old.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how the youth plunged a knife into former Kent body-building champion Mr Onyett four times after being belittled and goaded by him.

The victim was celebrating his 49th birthday with other alcoholics at a flat in Cobham Street, Gravesend, on December 22 last year.

One of the wounds severed a main artery in his thigh, leading to his death. Onyett also stabbed Robert Jordan in the thigh as he tried to take the weapon from him.

Mr Onyett, it was said, was belittling his son and laughing at him. He pushed the youth violently across the room. The teenager picked up a chair and threw it at his father.

He then reached for a knife on the draining board. Before being stabbed, his father had been mockingly shouting to him stick the blade in his chest.

The jury heard that Onyett was abandoned by his mother at an early age and found himself on the streets at 12. He tried to hang himself and received little education.

Onyett’s QC William Lowe had submitted that the right verdict was manslaughter because of diminished responsibility, involving an abnormality of the mind, and his “involuntary” drinking. He said he was also provoked.

Onyett denied murder, wounding Mr Jordan with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and an alternative charge of unlawful wounding.

The jury unanimously found him guilty of murder and unlawfully wounding Mr Jordan.

Mr Lowe said despite lying to police and claiming that someone else must have committed the stabbing, Onyett was full of remorse.

“We advised him that it would not be right for this young man to plead guilty to the crime of murder,” he said. “We submit there was no pre-meditation in this case. This all happened extremely quickly.”

The path Onyett and his father’s life was taking had “brought him to this”, said the QC. “Obviously, he can never forget that for which he is responsible.”

“In my judgement, this case is as much about human tragedy as it is about human weakness,” said the judge. “Clearly, you have had a wretched life yourself and I have that very much in mind."

He added: “I have no doubt your remorse is genuine and long-lasting and will remain with you."

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