AN inquest hearing into the tragic death of a young Gambian footballer who was brutally murdered is to be held.
The death of Beyake Keita-Ann is listed for a mention on Tuesday at Bradford Coroners' Court.
Mr Keita-Ann, 21, died more than five years ago after he was beaten with a baseball bat in a busy Bradford park.
The killing was thrust back into the spotlight last December, when a 27-year-old man was sentenced for his part in the violent disorder in Attock Park, Rufford Street, Laisterdyke, on August 23, 2016.
But it was stressed at Bradford Crown Court that although Mohammed Yaseen Miah, of Heath Terrace, Bradford Moor, Bradford, was present at the scene, he was not carrying a weapon or taking any part in the violence.
Miah, who was 21 at the time, pleaded guilty to using or threatening unlawful violence with others on the evening of Mr Keita-Ann’s death.
Judge Neil Davey QC sentenced him to 21 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with 180 hours of unpaid work.
He accepted that Miah had no weapon and did not join in the attack, but he drove a man away from the scene. Mr Keita-Ann, who lived in Leeds, died in hospital three weeks after he was critically injured.
West Yorkshire Police said the force remains committed to getting justice for Mr Keita-Ann's family.
His loved ones have previously spoken of the impact his death has had. In one emotional appeal, Fatou Ann Danso, Mr Keita-Ann's mother, said the family had not been the same.
"We need answers and we need justice," she pleaded.
"No family should have to suffer the pain and anguish of losing a child like this.”
Heart-wrenching details of that night in August 2016 came to light as Miah was sentenced.
The court heard a group of young Gambian men of Gambian descent were playing football in the busy park, but trouble flared when a stray ball hit a parked car.
While it was an accident, some young Asian males took exception to what happened and many descended on the scene before attacking the group.
Mr Keita-Ann was set upon and struck with a bat so hard that he died of his injuries.
Although a string of around 20 suspects were arrested and questioned in the months that followed his death, no one has yet been brought to justice for the brutal murder.
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