A machete-wielding teenager who stabbed his mother’s boyfriend to death has been locked up for 10 years today (Monday).

Rohan Daniels was in his bedroom when he fatally wounded 40-year-old David Perry four days before Christmas 2022.

The 19-year-old was subsequently cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter following a trial in February this year.

Having claimed he acted in self-defence after Mr Perry punched him, he said he feared his mum's partner wanted a fight and would kill him.

The weapon, described as "huge" with a blade measuring 25cm long, was one he used in the garden, he explained.

At his sentencing hearing at Maidstone Crown Court, Daniels was assisted, as at trial, by an intermediary, and his father sat in the public gallery.

Judge Philip Statman heard that two experts were not in agreement however as to how the teen's autism spectrum disorder had impacted his "culpability" at the time.

One argued that Daniels's condition was "more subtle" than that, while the second told the court it would have affected his "perception".

Trouble flared at the property in Medway Close, Sittingbourne, in the early hours of December 21, 2022.

The then 18-year-old and Mr Perry clashed over a pouch of tobacco Daniels had taken from the room his mum shared with Mr Perry.

Having exchanged words on the stairs, the teen then retreated to his bedroom, only to be followed by the victim who, within seconds of entering uninvited, collapsed in the doorway bleeding from multiple wounds.

Life-saving efforts by his partner and the emergency services were unsuccessful and Mr Perry was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pathologist Dr Virginia Fitzpatrick-Swallow told the jury that of the eight stab wounds, the fatal one was to the left side of the abdomen, which caused damage to organs and a main artery.

Others were inflicted to his back, face and mouth, as well as several defensive injuries.

Mr Perry, who was 6ft 2in, weighed in excess of 30st and in poor health when killed, was described in a victim impact statement written on behalf of his daughters as "a devoted, brilliant dad who would have been an even better grandad".

They said his unlawful and untimely death was "unbearable, unimaginable and all-consuming".

Prosecutor Danny Moore said that even if there had been an assault by Mr Perry on Daniels, it did not justify him taking hold of the machete, let alone using it repeatedly.

"What we submit, given the ferocity of the attack, is that it would be wrong to categorise what followed as being defence just short of legal self-defence," he told the sentencing hearing.

"That cannot be right because of what happened. Based on the injuries and location, they are a very long way from the legal defence.

"If it were truly the position he believed he was about to be killed, that would have been a complete defence to the charge.

"It is far-fetched to suggest Mr Perry was about to kill him, in his home, with his bare hands."

Mr Moore added that the prosecution also did not accept the claim Daniels had the machete for gardening.

"It is far-fetched to suggest Mr Perry was about to kill him, in his home, with his bare hands…"

Giving evidence, Daniels, of College Road, Sittingbourne, said his mum's partner appeared to be "drunk or on something" when they clashed.

"I thought he wanted to fight me. I felt scared and I walked away to my bedroom," the teen told the court.

“I sat on my bed. David came through the door and I picked up the machete, which I use in the garden, and told him to ‘get the f*** out’ of my bedroom.

“I felt shocked, scared and I was panicking. He came in sideways. I had the knife in my right hand. I had picked up the knife to get him to leave my bedroom.

“I thought he wanted to fight with me. I feared he was going to hospitalise me or kill me.”

The court was told Mr Perry did not have the traditional stepfather role with his girlfriend's son, was not responsible for discipline, and that he and the teen just "occasionally grunted" at each other.

Daniels, a cannabis user since he was 14, told jurors that Mr Perry had punched him on entering his room, which he regarded as a "safe space" and one even his mum was not allowed to enter without his permission.

"I felt a bit dazed. I was holding up the knife. I didn't see the knife go in him. He tried to punch me again," he explained.

"He grabbed hold of my T-shirt. He then walked away and leaned against the door frame before falling back into my bedroom."

The court heard Daniels, who is known as Sonny, fled his home and threw away the machete but handed himself in to police the next day.

Dean George KC, defending, said the teenager had not intended to kill his victim and that the first wound may have been caused by Mr Perry "walking onto" the blade.

He also told the court that had the victim not "barged" into the room, the teenager, who has a low IQ, an "emerging" anti-social personality disorder and a cannabis use disorder, would not be in the dock.

"If the door was never opened to Sonny's room, we don't have a court case. That's the reality," added Mr George.

"I'm not blaming David Perry for his death at all but when one is looking at these features as we must, that's where we are."

Judge Statman described the violence as "an ugly, short-lived, spontaneous attack", with no evidence of anything happening either that evening or "in their past" that indicated any intent to kill.

But he rejected the idea Mr Perry had walked onto the weapon, and said it was another example of the need for people "to understand just how dangerous knives are".

“I thought he wanted to fight with me. I feared he was going to hospitalise me or kill me…”

Sentencing Daniels, who has no previous convictions, to detention in a young offenders' institution, Judge Statman told him: "You were well aware of what impact a knife can cause upon a human body.

"This is not a case, of course, where you were in some way under the influence of peer group pressure. It's not a gang (crime) or anything like that in the street.

"But if you have a knife like this in your room and you show it out in the way you did, you know there is the potential there for consequences, and tragically the consequences are all too clear in this particular case.

"Here, a knife was used on at least eight occasions including not just stabbing to the front but also a stab wound to the back and severe force would have been operative."

Judge Statman added that although Daniels's autism formed part of the background to the incident, it was not a "significant" contributory factor that led to Mr Perry's killing.

Daniels was told he will have to serve two-thirds of the custodial term, less any time already served on remand.