FOUR people who murdered student Billy Henham have been sentenced to a total of 86 years in prison.

The court heard they had tortured the 24-year-old and one of them took pictures of his naked body.

Billy was beaten, stripped naked and thrown off a balcony at a disused building in North Street, Brighton, on January 1, 2020.

The 24-year-old, from Henfield, was subjected to a “sustained and significant” fatal assault from punches, kicks and stamps, the court heard.

Dushane Meikle, 28, and Gregory Hawley, 29, were each sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years; Lamech Gordon-Carew, 20, and 19-year-old Alize Spence each received minimum terms of 18 years.

The Argus: Gregory Hawley, left, and Lamech Gordon-CarewGregory Hawley, left, and Lamech Gordon-Carew

All had been found guilty of murder.

Hove Crown Court court heard that Hawley had refused to attend Friday's hearing because he didn't "feel well” while Meikle also refused to attend as he was unable to access legal documents.

The presiding judge, His Honour Justice John Cavanagh, attacked their "lack of moral character" after failing to appear at the sentencing

The Argus: Alize Spence, left, and Dushane MeikleAlize Spence, left, and Dushane Meikle

He said none of the defendants had shown any remorse for the murder.

He told the two defendants in the dock: “The precise reason why you decided to beat up Bill Henham will remain a mystery.

“You, Gregory Hawley, told a friend that the boy who died had been acting in a lairy mouthy manner at the party.

“I am fully satisfied that Bill Henham had done nothing that could possibly have justified the four of you taking offence against him … The motive for the assault appears to have been to punish your victim for some trivial or imagined slight.”

The Argus: Forensic experts discovered disinfectant in his hair while bloodstained areas where he had been beaten appeared to have been “diluted”, a court heardForensic experts discovered disinfectant in his hair while bloodstained areas where he had been beaten appeared to have been “diluted”, a court heard

Gordon-Carew and Spence showed no emotion as they were sentenced.

Billy's parents Ian and Debbie made an emotional victim impact statement to the court, in which they said their lives had been "devastated" and called the attack on their son "brutal".  

In their statement they paid tribute to the police who investigated Billy's murder.

James Mulholland QC, prosecuting, told the court that the defendants "enjoyed" and "boasted" about their attack on the student.

READ MORE: Billy Henham suffered 67 separate injuries in brutal murder in Brighton