Josie Hinton THE five men jailed for the brutal killing of 18-year-old Jevon Henry on the Lisson Green estate are appealing against their convictions and prison sentences. The gang, who hunted Jevon like a pack of animals before knifing him in the hear

Josie Hinton

THE five men jailed for the brutal killing of 18-year-old Jevon Henry on the Lisson Green estate are appealing against their convictions and prison sentences.

The gang, who hunted Jevon "like a pack of animals" before knifing him in the heart and beating him with a hammer, were sentenced at the Old Bailey on March 13. The appeals have been lodged, the Court of Appeal have confirmed.

Drug dealer Muhid Abdul, 25, who dealt the fatal blow through the heart of the 18-year-old trainee mechanic, has lodged an appeal against both his conviction and his 19-year jail sentence.

Kamal Abdul, 21, and Taz Uddin, 22, have also appealed their convictions, despite neither taking the stand to give evidence during the six-week murder trial.

Brothers Jubed and Toufajal Miah, 26 and 21, have appealed their sentences. They were told they would serve 15 years and 16 years respectively.

Ann Henry, Jevon's mother, who bravely attended every day of the trial, said the news had left her feeling "devastated" and "numb".

"I don't know what I feel anymore," she said. "I don't feel angry, I just feel numb. I have headaches and I'm not sleeping. I'm devastated about the whole thing.

"I think they should just accept what they've done and their punishment.

"They will get out of prison and see their families, but I'll never get to see my son again. They've done something wrong and they should be punished for it. Their punishment is nothing compared to what I'm going through."

After a two-year wait for justice the 40-year-old, who has two other sons, said she found relief in the gang's conviction. Although it would never bring Jevon back, she knew her son's murderers would be punished and she could try to get on with her life.

Now, faced with the news that her son's killers are seeking to have their convictions overturned, she said it "brought everything back".

"It's so hard. I don't know why they are doing this," she said. "It's just like starting all over again."

Following the brutal murder, the five Bengali killers, all from the Lisson Green estate in St John's Wood, tried to evade justice by fleeing to Bangladesh. But they were arrested at Heathrow trying to slip back into the country.

Three defendants remained silent throughout the trial, with only Toufajul and Muhid seeking to defend the gang.

Toujaful told jurors they acted in self defence after being attacked by Jevon and a friend. The prosecution dismissed the claim, saying the five defendants were the aggressors, murdering him in cold blood.

During the trial, a witness told how she saw the men raining savage blows down on Jevon with a hammer. She called out in an attempt to make the attackers flee, before leaving the scene briefly to phone 999. She returned to see Jevon attempt to stagger to safety before collapsing.

He died in St Mary's Hospital in Paddington the next day - January 25, 2007. It was his 18th birthday.