'How dare you take my boy away from me?…' grieving mum addresses killer in emotional courtroom scenes

As Justina Bobmanuel sat yards away from the man whose senseless act took away her son, she struggled to hold back her emotions. Fighting back tears, she admirably and courageously laid out the horrendous impact of the loss of her son, Zikel Bobmanuel.

Rumaal Ingram had no choice but to listen to her heartfelt words, as he sat enclosed in the dock, within one of Minshull Street Crown Court’s Victorian court rooms. A room which has heard decades of testimony, but none are likely to have been more emotionally charged than this.

On Saturday, March 25 last year, Justina left her home to find her son lay in the street, dying. He had been shot by Ingram, his half-brother.

READ MORE: Man who shot dead his half-brother Zikel Bobmanuel in the street jailed for life

The spark for the appalling killing appeared to be a petty row over some trainers. Justina says she still struggles to comprehend how her son, a dad whose youngest child was just weeks old at the time, could have his life robbed over something so minor.

“How can someone lose their life over trainers?,” she said, addressing Ingram in court. “Even after 12 months the pain is stronger than ever before. I will never be the same person again. So many lives have been destroyed from his horrendous act of violence. How dare you take my boy away from me? I can never get my beautiful boy back.”

More than a year on, as Ingram was jailed for life for manslaughter, Justina says she is finding it difficult to process the tragedy of what happened to 32-year-old Zikel. She said: “I am still struggling to process what has happened to my child. I am struggling to come to terms with his death.

“My heart has shattered into pieces. I am so desperate to be with my son. Every day I am