Teenage girls detained over sickening street attack that killed 75-year-old man in London

Three teenage girls have been detained after admitting manslaughter over the death of 75-year-old Fredi Rivero, who was brutally attacked on a north London street earlier this year.

The shocking incident, filmed on a mobile phone, showed the girls — aged 14, 16 and 17 at the time — surrounding Mr Rivero near a bus stop on Seven Sisters Road, Islington, before pushing, punching and kicking him. One of the teenagers was seen snatching his glasses and laughing as the violence unfolded.

Mr Rivero, a Bolivian national described as “kind and gentle,” was found unconscious on the pavement by police officers responding to the attack on 27 February. He suffered a severe head injury and cardiac arrest and was later pronounced dead at the Royal London Hospital the following day.

The youngest girl, now 15, received two and a half years’ detention, the 17-year-old was sentenced to three and a half years, and the oldest — who turns 18 next month — was handed four years. Their identities have been withheld due to their age.

At the Old Bailey, Mr Rivero’s daughter delivered an emotional statement, saying her father’s “death was forced upon him” and describing him as “the nicest person you could ever meet.”

Prosecutor Louise Oakley told the court the attack was one of “unprovoked violence,” supported by CCTV footage showing the girls initially walking away before returning to confront him. One made a peace sign before being attacked moments later.

Detective Inspector Devan Taylor, who led the investigation, condemned the assault as “completely unprovoked” and said the girls’ decision to record it was “sickening.”

He praised bystanders who provided first aid and assisted police in tracking down the teenagers, who were arrested within hours — two in a nearby park and the third at her home.

“This was a senseless act of cruelty,” he said. “A kind elderly man lost his life for no reason other than the girls’ desire to cause harm and humiliation.”