FOUR men have been convicted of murdering a student at a New Year’s Eve party.

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

The 24-year-old, from Henfield, suffered 11 rib fractures, extensive bruising to his scalp, face and neck and a brain injury.

He was also struck with a broken wooden stair spindle.

Dushane Meikle, 27, Gregory Hawley, 28, Lamech Gordon-Carew, 20, and 18-year-old Alize Spence have all been found guilty of murder.

The four men will be sentenced at a later date.

Billy, who studied at Ravensbourne University in London, had spent Christmas with his family but wanted to see in the new year in a “lively” atmosphere, the court was previously told.

He decided to leave his phone and wallet at home so as not to risk losing them but was believed to have written down one of his parents' numbers on a piece of paper.

The final sighting of Billy was at 4.30am in All Sorts off-licence in North Street, diagonally opposite the squat where a New Year's Eve party was held.

His body, which had been dropped over balcony railings from a height of nearly 11ft, was discovered by police the following day.

Forensic experts discovered disinfectant in his hair while bloodstained areas where he had been beaten appeared to have been “diluted”, the court heard.

The jury was told that while his injuries would have rendered him unconscious, Billy would have been alive for at least an hour after the violent attack.

When Meikle was arrested in Hove six days later, police found two deleted photos on his phone of Billy’s body on the roof terrace.