The sister of a schoolboy slaughtered just '30 seconds from his home' by his sword-wielding friends has told how her life has been 'absolutely destroyed'. Nikita Kanda said teenagers who murdered her younger brother Ronan Kanda have 'gained nothing' from their cowardly attack.
They have 'ruined' lives, including her own, she said. Much-loved Ronan was walking towards his Wolverhampton home when he was stabbed from behind with a 20-inch sword in a horrifying case of mistaken identity.
His killers - Prabjeet Veadhesa and Sukhman Shergill - thought he was someone else they held a grudge with. Now, Nikita has said she believes her brother could have survived if others had reported the killers to police.
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In footage released by West Midlands Police, she said: "I think if you ask those two boys now in jail "what did you gain from this?", they will tell you they gained nothing from it and they ruined their lives - and they've ruined their family's lives and they've absolutely destroyed our lives.
"Even though not in Ronan's case, if you are carrying a knife, you are actually more likely to get into a knife incident. If you see your friend carrying one, there are confidential numbers you can call and not be identified yourself and say "look my friend's carrying a knife" and you are saving your friend's life from either being stabbed or stabbing someone.
"If somebody had reported my brother's killers, they would have been stopped in their tracks and my brother could have been here today." West Midlands Police released its video of Nikita speaking about Ronan's murder as part of its region-wide Operation Spectre, which aims to tackle knife crime.
Veadhesa and Shergill, both 17, were locked up for life in July after being convicted of murder by jurors at Wolverhampton Crown Court. A five-week trial heard how the victim had gone to a friend's house to buy a PlayStation controller for £5 and made his way home on foot on June 29 last year.
The Liverpool FC fan was just yards from the doorstep of his family home in Mount Road, Lanesfield, as both of his masked killers approached him from behind. Veadhesa sprinted towards Ronan and stabbed him twice.
The blade was driven 20cm deep into Ronan's body, with a second blow leaving a 17cm wound. Veadhesa had collected the Ninja sword set and a large machete bought online from a post office just hours earlier.
He confessed during the trial that he would order what the prosecution alleged were 'lethal weapons' with a false I.D to sell them on as a way to 'make money'. Nikita recalled the heartbreaking moment she discovered her brother had been stabbed to death.
In one clip, she can be seen standing in the exact spot where Ronan was executed. She said: "I can't believe I'm standing here having to say that "this is where my brother was stabbed to death".
"You can see the spot from my house. Ronan was around 30 seconds from home and they ran off, left him to die. They were looking for someone else so it was a case of mistaken identity.
"I got a text from my friend who lives up the road. [It said] "there's a blue tent outside your house, a 16-year-old boy's been stabbed". I called my dad and then he told me. I didn't really believe him until I heard my mum just screaming."
The trial heard how the intended victim was another teenage boy who owed Shergill money. Not even Ronan's killers 'had a bad word' to say about her popular brother, Nikita said.
She added: "Everyone would describe Ronan as the boy with the biggest smile, the boy who would try and make everyone laugh, the boy who would do anything for anybody. He would walk into a room and he would fill that room up with so much happiness. Even if you were having a bad day, you would just need to look at him and you feel like "I'm alright now".
"Nobody had a bad word to say about Ronan, including Ronan's murderers. On June 29, 2022, my brother Ronan was murdered with a 20-inch Ninja sword by a 16-year-old boy."
Helpless Ronan let out a chilling scream when he was wounded - a moment captured on CCTV footage. His 'so-called friends' - who went to school with him at The Khalsa Academy, Wolverhampton - left him to die in the street as they ran from the scene after realising they had attacked the wrong person.
Veadhesa, of Cairn Drive, Bentley, Walsall, was told he must serve a minimum of 18 years. Shergill, of Bewley Road, Willenhall, was handed a minimum term of 16 years.
He did not deliver any blows but was convicted on a joint enterprise basis. On X, formerly known as Twitter, the force said: "Ronan was 16 when he was stabbed, seconds from home, by teenagers who thought he was someone else.
"Ronan's family firmly believe if someone had reported the boys who stabbed Ronan, he would still be alive today. If you’ve got concerns about someone carrying a knife, call West Midlands Police on 101 or report anonymously to Fearless on 0800 555 111.
"You can learn more about the consequences of carrying a knife and support on how to ditch your weapons by visiting https://lifeorknife.west-midlands.police.uk/."
