In a case that has sent shockwaves through the community, a mother has spoken of her unimaginable grief after her 16-year-old son was stabbed to death with a so-called 'zombie knife' at a house party.
A Mother's Worst Nightmare
Mikey Roynon, a popular teenager from Bristol, said "Love you mum" before heading out to a party in Bath, Somerset, on the evening of 10 June 2023. His mother, Hayley, had travelled to Birmingham for a work event, leaving money out for him as she would any other night.
When Hayley turned her phone back on after the event, she was met with over 30 missed calls from Mikey's phone and his friends. "I knew instantly something was wrong," she recalls. Upon calling back, a friend delivered the devastating news: "Mikey's been stabbed and he's gone."
Rushing to the scene in Bath, Hayley was confronted by a forensic tent and police tape. "I thought he was still alive," she said. A police officer informed her that someone had been stabbed and killed, and they believed it was her son.
A Life Cut Short in a Moment of Violence
Avon and Somerset Police were called to the address following reports of a stabbing. An altercation had broken out between two groups of teenagers, which ended with Mikey being stabbed once in the neck with a zombie knife. The wound was so severe he had little chance of survival.
Mikey was described as a music-loving teen who had sung in his primary school talent show aged five and later produced drill music that garnered over 250,000 views online. He was not in a gang and had no criminal record. Chillingly, Hayley remembers her son's foreboding words: "He used to say to me, I'm going to get stabbed."
Following an investigation, 16-year-old Shane Cunningham and two other boys were arrested. Cunningham pleaded not guilty and refused to take the stand during his trial. While one witness suggested Mikey had been waving a knife, leading to a claim of self-defence, police believe he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A New Pattern of Youth Violence
Criminologist James Alexander, with over 20 years' experience working with youth offenders, highlighted a disturbing shift. "Shane wouldn't have been on anyone's radar because he's got no convictions. Fifteen years ago, if someone's going to be stabbing someone, they would have had prior convictions. Now they don't," he explained.
He pointed to a dangerous new normal where young people arm themselves pre-emptively. "Young people nowadays, going to a party, they're going to think other people at a party are going to carry a knife, so they're going to carry one too. It's just like putting on trainers before they go out."
A jury found Shane Cunningham guilty of murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 16 years. The two other boys, who cannot be named due to their age, had initial manslaughter convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal.
For Hayley, the sentence offers little solace. "He could be out when he's 32 - he can come out and start a new life. How is that fair when Mikey can't have kids and I'm never going to have grandchildren?" she said.
The case features in 'House Party Killer', available to stream on Crime+Investigation.
