THE family of a murdered musician were yesterday praised for their courage, as his killer was sentenced to life behind bars.

Eighteen-year-old Haydan O’Callaghan, of Saunders Road, Oxford, will serve a minimum of 21 years after stabbing father-of-two Aaron Buron to death in a Rose Hill street.

A jury at Oxford Crown Court found him guilty of murder on Friday. Judge Patrick Eccles said Mr Buron had been a “fine and completely innocent young man”, who “was simply trying to help someone else”.

Speaking after the hearing, Baljit Ubhey, chief prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “The CPS praises the strength and courage of Aaron’s family who sat through the trial and listened to the horrific details of how the hip-hop artist was stabbed to death while trying to do a good deed.

“We hope that the conviction and sentence will, in some way, help the family come to terms with this tragic event and move forward with their lives.”

Det Chief Insp Steve Tolmie said O’Callaghan had shown no remorse for his actions and had initially lied about his involvement.

He said: “O’Callaghan is a violent and dangerous man. He has no morals and has contributed little to society.

“Any person that arms themselves with a knife and then purposely seeks their victim intending to use the knife must be imprisoned for a long time for the safety of the public.”

Speaking outside court, Mr Buron’s dad Maxwell said: “It’s just relief. Happiness and relief. But our life sentence still goes on.”

O’Callaghan was sentenced to life imprisonment, serving a minimum of 21 years. He was also sentenced to 15 months for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, which he had previously admitted.

This sentence will be served concurrently.