Teen killer responsible for murdering Sheffield dad in knife attack can now be named for first time

Minutes before sending a 17-year-old to begin 18 years’ custody at His Majesty’s pleasure for the murder of 42-year-old Anthony Sumner, Judge Peter Kelson KC granted The Star’s request to lift a legal restriction protecting his identity.

We can now name Mr Sumner’s teen killer, Boe Barton, for the first time. He is from south east Sheffield.

Explaining his reason for lifting the restriction during a sentencing hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court this morning (Friday, March 31), Judge Kelson said: “I lift the publicity order, given his age, I’m satisfied it’s in the public interest to do so.”

In reaching his determination, Judge Kelson said he had been ‘greatly assisted’ by a judgement made by Lord Justice Coulson in 2014 concerning the ‘deterrent value’ of lifting such a reporting restriction.

Barton celebrated his 15th birthday just months before becoming involved in fatal, joint knife attack on 42-year-old Anthony Sumner on July 29, 2021.

Barton, now aged 17, and his co-accused, Richard Sampson, went on trial accused of Mr Sumner’s murder in June 2022. However, a reporting restriction placed on the case under Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 has meant that, up until now, it has not been possible to reveal Barton’s identity, even after he was found guilty of Mr Sumner’s murder at the conclusion of his trial in June 2022.

Upon Barton’s conviction, Star court reporter, Jon Cooper, submitted an application requesting that the restriction placed on Barton’s case be lifted, arguing that the ‘seriousness of the offence’ and the ‘importance of open justice, public interest and the deterrent element of naming such a convicted youth would outweigh any benefits of anonymity’.

However, while jurors were able to reach a verdict for Barton, they failed to do so in the case of Sampson, aged 50, of Prince of Wales Road, near Woodthorpe, Sheffield. Prosecutors successfully sought a retrial for Sampson and it was decided that Barton would be sentenced at the conclusion of Sampson’s second trial, and the application arguing his identity should be revealed would be considered at the same time.

Sampson’s second trial got underway at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, March 30, 2023. A jury of six men and six women found Sampson guilty of Mr Sumner’s murder yesterday (Thursday, March 30, 2023), after 25 hours and 55 minutes of deliberation.

Sampson was also sentenced for Mr Sumner’s murder during today’s hearing, during which Judge Kelson jailed him for life, to serve a minimum of 28 years behind bars.

Sending the pair to custody, Judge Peter Kelson KC said: “The circumstances and ferocity of this attack were both savage and cowardly.

He continued: “I’m satisfied, on the evidence, that you set out to find Anthony Sumner that night, you followed him for a period of time…this was an ambush. There was a degree of planning, or pre-meditation, for an offence of violence.”

“There were two of you…you chased your victim, you cornered him and attacked him when he was unarmed and defenceless.”