TATE PLUNGE
Who is Tate Modern fall attacker Jonty Bravery?
MENTALLY ill and violent teen Jonty Bravery, who threw a six-year-old boy from Tate Modern, has been told he "may never be released" after being caged for attempted murder.
His victim survived the 100ft (30metre) fall, but suffered life-changing injuries - including a bleed on the brain and multiple broken bones - and remains in a wheelchair.
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Who is Jonty Bravery?
Jonty Bravery was on bail for assaulting and racially abusing a carer at the time he hurled a French boy off the Tate Modern viewing gantry in 2019.
Bravery, now aged 18, admitted attempted murder and has now been jailed for at least 15 years.
Sentencing Bravery, of Ealing in West London, Old Bailey judge Mrs Justice McGowan said on June 26: "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 said Bravery's autism spectrum disorder (ASD) did not explain the attack, and acknowledged expert evidence he presents "a grave and immediate risk to the public".
The judge added: "You will spend the greater part - if not all - of your life detained ... you may never be released."
After being nabbed by cops, the teen told officers he had travelled to the London gallery on August 4, 2019, with the intention of hurting someone so he could be on the TV news that evening.
He said: "I wanted to be on the news, who I am and why I did it, so when it is official no-one can say anything else."
Bravery then said he heard voices tell him he had to hurt or kill people and wanted to prove a point "to every idiot" who said he didn't have mental health issues.
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What happened at the Tate Modern?
The Old Bailey was told that Bravery was seen wandering about the Tate's viewing platform before picking up his victim and throwing him over the edge.
He spent at least 15 minutes stalking potential victims before ";scooping" a six-year-old boy up and over the railings as the youngster skipped slightly ahead of his family.
The six-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered a bleed to the brain, fractures to his spine and broken legs and arms following the fall.
His distraught mum screamed "my son, my son" and tried to climb over the 10th floor railing to go to his aid.
The boy was visiting London with his family at the time.
Bravery then approached a member of staff, explaining: "I think I've murdered someone, I've just thrown someone off the balcony."
CCTV footage captured Bravery backing away from the railings.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer told the Old Bailey: "He can be seen to be smiling, with his arms raised. At one point, he appears to shrug and laugh."
Ms Heer told the court Bravery then told the boy's father: "Yes I am mad."
He was also heard to say, with a shrug: "It's not my fault, it's social services' fault," the lawyer added.
It later emerged that Bravery initially sought to carry out his grim attack at the Shard, Britain's tallest building, but baulked at the entry fee.
The teen is understood to have slipped away from two carers when the horror attack took place.
Witnesses speaking at the time said he had followed families around with his hands behind his back before pouncing on the young boy as his mum's back was turned.
What did Jonty say in a 2018 recording?
A recording from autumn 2018, obtained following a joint investigation by BBC News and the Daily Mail, allegedly reveals Jonty Bravery telling his carers of a plan to kill someone.
The audio, reported to be the voice of Bravery, says: "In the next few months I've got it in my head I've got to kill somebody."
Bravery also allegedly tells his carers he wants to go into central London and visit a tall landmark to push somebody off it.
A care worker called Olly - not his real name - told the that opportunities to stop the attack were missed.
Olly recorded Bravery telling him and another care worker that he hoped to murder someone, the broadcaster added.
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"It could be the Shard, it could be anything just as long as it's a high thing and we can go up and visit it, and then push somebody off it.
"And I know for a fact they'll die from falling from a hundred feet," he is alleged to have said in the recording.
Care provider Spencer & Arlington told the BBC it had "no knowledge or records of the disclosure".
In a statement, it said there was "absolutely no evidence" that Bravery "may have told his carers of his plan".
Spencer & Arlington said that there was no record of the disclosure in any care plan, care report or review from managers or his carers, psychologists, or health workers.
But the company said it recognised the "gravity" of the claim and has reported concerns to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Where is Jonty now?
He has been in custody at Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne, Berkshire, since mid-October 2019.
Well-built Bravery, who was wearing a white T-shirt and dark shorts, sat impassively with his legs crossed and occasionally placed his hands behind his head as he watched the 20-minute sentencing hearing via videolink from Broadmoor.
The court heard Bravery had been in supported accommodation under the care of Hammersmith and Fulham Social Services, with one-to-one supervision, and had a history of lashing out at staff.
Despite this, he was allowed to leave home, unsupervised, for up to four hours at a time.
Defence counsel Philippa McAtasney QC said her client was immature, adding that it "beggars belief"; that he was deemed suitable to go out unsupervised.
She said Bravery's parent's "abhor" what he did and cannot forgive him, but feel "let down by the system".
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Did his six-year-old victim survive?
Bravery's young victim was taken by air ambulance in a critical condition.
He miraculously survived but was left with a broken back, legs and arms after the fall, along with a deep bleed to his brain.
On January 24, 2020, in a heartbreaking update on his condition on his his mum said "our son is still in progress. He can now eat mash."
She added: "We hope that he will be able to drink soon, with a straw to start with.
"He cannot use his left arm but he manages to open his left hand.
"However, he still cannot stand or walk, and has great difficulty staying focused and thinking.
"Thank you all for your help. We keep fighting with our little knight."
In a victim impact statement taken in February, the boy's parents described Bravery's actions as "unspeakable".
The couple, who have now returned with their son to their native France, said: "Words cannot express the horror and fear his actions have brought up on us and our son who now, six months on, is wondering why he's in hospital.
"How can he not see in every stranger a potential 'villain' who could cause him immense pain and suffering?"
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