Teen Who Threw Six-Year-Old Off Balcony In Tate Modern Jailed

Jonty Bravery, the autistic teenager who threw a six-year-old boy off a viewing platform at the Tate Modern in London has been jailed for at least 15 years and has been warned he 'may never be released'.

Bravery, who was 17 at the time of the attack on 4 August last year, admitted attempted murder.

At the Old Bailey, it was revealed that that he had first attempted to go to the Shard - the tallest building in London - before heading to the art gallery.

CCTV footage of the incident showed him turning towards the family of the boy, who were on holiday in the UK from France, as he moved away from his parents.

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Prosecutor Deanna Heer told the Old Bailey: "As [the boy] approached, the defendant scooped him up and, without any hesitation, carried him straight to the railings and threw him over.

"The CCTV footage shows him falling head-first towards the ground."

Bravery then approached Tate staff and said: "I think I've murdered someone, I've just thrown someone off the balcony."

The boy was rushed to hospital and spent more than a month in a UK hospital before being sent to a French hospital. He remains in a wheelchair and will need '100 percent care support until at least August 2022', according to court reports.

Bravery was under one-on-one supervision with social services at the time but was allowed to go out unaccompanied for up to four hours.

The court heard that Bravery had planned the attack 'well in advance' and had found to carry out online searches for "are you guaranteed to escape prison if you have autism?" and "what are the chances of death if you push into the River Thames?"

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Heer told the court: "He narrowed it down to three possibilities: strangling a woman or a child, drowning a child or throwing someone off a tall building."

Sentencing, Old Bailey judge Mrs Justice McGowan said: "The fear he [the victim] must have experienced and the horror his parents felt are beyond imagination.

"You had intended to kill someone that day - you almost killed that six-year-old boy."

She added: "You will spend the greater part - if not all - of your life detained... you may never be released."

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19