Teenager who threw boy from 10th floor of Tate Modern admits attempted murder

Teenager Jonty Bravery, who threw a six-year-old boy from a 10th floor viewing platform at the Tate Modern art gallery, has pleaded guilty to attempted murder.

Recorder of London Nicholas Hilliard QC remanded the 18-year-old in custody ahead of a sentencing hearing on 17 February.

Before entering his guilty plea, Bravery confirmed his identity and said his nationality was “white British”.

Speaking via video link from custody, he was asked how he pleaded to the charge of attempted murder and replied: “I plead guilty. Guilty, yeah correct.”

His victim, who cannot be named because of his age, is recovering slowly in his native France after spending months in intensive care.

The boy’s family wrote on a GoFundMe page last month that he is “now able to venture outside” and has regained some movement in his legs.

The page has raised around £130,000 for the boy’s medical treatment.

Bravery, of west London, was arrested moments after throwing the child from the 10th storey balcony of the tourist attraction on Sunday 4 August.

The teenager, who has autistic spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and was likely to have a personality disorder, has been held at Broadmoor Hospital since mid-October.

Bravery was seen wandering about the Tate Modern viewing platform before picking up his victim and throwing him over the edge, the court previously heard.

He then approached a member of staff, explaining: “I think I’ve murdered someone, I’ve just thrown someone off the balcony.”

He said he heard voices tell him he had to hurt or kill people, the court was told.

Bravery later told police he had to prove a point “to every idiot” who said he had no mental health problems, asking police if the incident was going to be on the news.

He said: “I wanted to be on the news, who I am and why I did it, so when it is official no-one can say anything else.”

In a series of social media posts, which have since been deleted, the defendant’s father Piers Bravery attempted to raise awareness of autism and its treatment.

In one tweet to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, posted less than three months before the incident, Mr Bravery said: “Yes, @MattHancock, you do have a duty. You are a public servant so do your job and stop more children dying and being abused in these repugnant institutions.”

Bravery’s mental health deteriorated in custody, and he spent some time in segregation, the court previously heard.

The public was initially banned from knowing Bravery’s identity due to a reporting restriction protecting the then-17-year-old from being named.

But the court heard how Bravery had told others at Cookham Wood Young Offender Institute in Rochester who he was and what he had done.

The judge turned down an application from the local authority to extend reporting restrictions beyond his 18th birthday, the point at which youths can ordinarily be named.

(c) Sky News 2019: Teenager who threw boy from 10th floor of Tate Modern admits attempted murder