Life for 'brutal' HMP Fosse Way killer who stamped on neck of man living 'in constant terror' - Leicestershire Live

NewsLife for 'brutal' HMP Fosse Way killer who stamped on neck of man living 'in constant terror'Mahir Mohammed was pronounced dead in his cellleicestermercuryBookmarkShareCommentsNewsByTom

MackSenior Reporter13:43, 29 MAY 2025Updated17:40, 29 MAY 2025BookmarkThe attack happened at HMP Fosse Way, which is in the Eyres Monsell area of Leicester (Image: PA)Get the latest

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Update 29/5/25: Killers' mugshots and CCTV footage of moments before attack released - full story here

Two Leicestershire prison inmates have been jailed for their parts in the murder of another prisoner. The victim, Mahir Mohammed, who was in prison for sex offences, was being taunted,

attacked and abused by Thierry Robinson and Ashirie Smith and others in the wing, leading to him throwing a kettle of hot water at the two men on Monday, August 19 last year.

The next day, Smith and Robinson went into his cell at HMP Fosse Way and attacked him, kicking and stamping on him, leaving him with a fatal neck injury. Yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, a

jury reached verdicts on both men after deliberating for about a day.

Smith, now 19, was convicted of murder, and Robinson, now 21, was found guilty of manslaughter. Today (Thursday) both men were back at Leicester Crown Court for sentencing.

READ MORE: Sex offender allegedly murdered in cell by prisoners, jury told

Smith was serving a three-year sentence at HMP Fosse Way, in Glen Parva, for firearms offences when the murder was committed. He also sentenced today for a violent robbery carried out by a

masked gang, armed with machetes, at the home of a De Montfort University student in Harrow Road, Westcotes, Leicester, in March 2023.

He was given a life sentence - which is mandatory for murder - and must serve a minimum term of 17 years and 6 months behind bars before he will be eligible for parole.

Robinson had been serving a five-and-a-half-year sentence for class A drug offences when the attack on Mr Mohammed took place. He had been due for release later that year. For the

manslaughter of Mr Mohammed, he was jailed for 11 years.

At the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Michael Burrows KC said aggravating factors in the prison attack included the "background of abuse" of Mr Mohammed and the "degree of planning", which

included the pair deliberately putting on their lace-up shoes ahead of the attack, indicating they were prepared to "use [their] feet if the need arose".

Mr Burrows read out a statement on behalf of Mr Mohammed's family, who were unable to raise money to travel to the UK for the trial. He said the family "feel very sad they have lost

Mahir in these circumstances".

The statement added: "He was 31 - no age for his life to end. He left Sudan to find a better life.

"He should have been safe within the prison setting. There was clearly an issue of him being bullied.

"What is shocking is that the prison service didn't act when there was a group of other prisoners taunting him."

Judge Timothy Spencer KC read out a letter Smith had written to him. The judge said the letter revealed that Smith had grown up in care because his mother was in prison and his father had

been deported to Jamaica. The letter said Smith, who wept in the dock, had been a victim of gun and knife crime in the past and "wants to rehabilitate himself".

The judge, who described Smith as a man who had set himself up as a "gangster", said: "I think it's the first time I've seen him display any emotion."

Commenting on victim Mr Mohammed, Judge Spencer said: "He lived what seems to be a very sad life. He left Sudan as a refugee.

"He undertook what must have been a long and dangerous journey to find a better life and arrived here hoping his fortunes had turned for the better - how wrong he was. I don't like to

think that his last weeks were miserable but it's clear they were."

Mr Mohammed had been jailed for an online conversation with a girl whom he thought was in her early teens. The "girl" was a decoy set up to snare paedophiles. The vigilante group behind the

snare reported him to the police, and he ended up being jailed at HMP Fosse Way.

The judge told Smith and Robinson: "He came across you two, who were to become his nemeses. He became ostracised and isolated in that prison.

"He led a miserable existence. Mahir Mohammed must have lived in constant terror."

On the day before the murder, Smith had been at Mohammed's cell door on 12 occasions, insulting him and punching him on one occasion. Towards the end of the day, Mr Mohammed threw hot

water from a kettle through a gap in his cell door, hitting Smith and Robinson.

The judge said that that was "at worst a minor irritant" for the two men, but was "another big mistake" for Mr Mohammed. "Your reputation on that landing required retribution," the judge

said.

"Your swift actions the next morning were premeditated." CCTV caught both men leaving their cells wearing laced-up shoes, rather than the slip-on shoes they had worn the day before.

The judge said: "You both meant to use your feet if the need arose." Robinson also had on gym gloves. They went into Mohammed's cell together.

The judge said that inside the cell there was "ferocious violence" and "copious" amounts of blood from the beating Mr Mohammed received. Both attackers were completely unhurt after the

attack.

Mr Mohammed's injuries included a ruptured artery in his neck. The judge said: "You, Ashirie Smith, stamped on the back of his neck area, stamped when he was at your mercy, and your

stamp was delivered with severe and brutal force."

Robinson was found not guilty of murder. A third man, Shaan Karim, who was on trial jointly accused of murder, was cleared of all charges.