The victim’s girlfriend, aged only 14, was also knifed in the chest
A teenager has been found guilty of attempted murder after stabbing a 15-year-old boy 11 times in an incident that also saw the victim’s 14-year-old girlfriend knifed in the chest on Whitefield Drive, Kirkby.
The violent encounter, which took place on the evening of 30 April this year, was reportedly in retaliation for an earlier confrontation that resulted in one of the defendant’s friends sustaining a head injury from being hit with a metal pole. The accused, a 15-year-old who cannot be named due to legal reasons, stood trial at Liverpool Crown Court facing charges including attempted murder.
After eight hours and 15 minutes of deliberation, a jury of six men and six women found him guilty of attempted murder by a majority verdict of 11 to one on Wednesday afternoon.
However, he was acquitted of the charge of wounding with intent in relation to the girl. He had previously pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of wounding the boy with intent and unlawful wounding concerning the second complainant, reports the Liverpool Echo.
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The young offender is set to be sentenced on 26 November and has been further remanded into youth detention until this date. Presiding over the trial, Judge Neil Flewitt KC excused the jury from further service for 10 years, informing them: “So far as the case is concerned, because he is such a young man, I am going to have to have some reports to determine the appropriate way of dealing with him. The likelihood is that he will be staying [in youth detention] for some time.”
“It is not uncommon, but it is unusual, for us to be dealing with defendants who are so young, charged with offences which are so serious. I am under no illusion how difficult it must be listening to the evidence in this sort of case, particularly watching that particularly harrowing footage.
“Please do not think in any way that we underestimate what you have been through. The system would not work without the work you have done over the past week or so. We are grateful for that. Thank you very much indeed.”
In the absence of jurors, Judge Flewitt then said to counsel in the case: “[There are] two issues that I particularly want you to address. The first is Section 250 of the Sentencing Act and the provisions for dangerous offenders. I will obviously need to consider that.
“The other issue is this. I don’t know whether either of you has looked at the guideline for attempted murder. Category A, very high culpability, has as a characteristic, the attempted murder of a child. Technically, that is what we have here. Whether it was ever intended to cover this situation is a matter that we will need to look into.”
The youth, dressed in a shirt and tie beneath a blue tracksuit top and wearing glasses, hugged his dad, who was permitted to sit with him during the trial. After the judge informed him of his conviction for attempted murder, he was escorted to the cells.
The judge told him: “You understand that the jury have convicted you of attempted murder. As I am sure Mr [his counsel, Julian] Nutter has explained to you, that means you will have to spend quite a lot longer in custody. I will make a decision and tell you that decision on the 26th of November.”
Previously, jurors were shown CCTV footage of the incident. It depicted the defendant and a friend approaching two victims and another girl at a bus stop on Whitefield Drive.
The boy who was later stabbed picked up a bottle discarded on the ground and threatened: “Which one yous? I’ll f***ing bury the both of yous. What? What? What? I’ll stab you to bits. What? What? What?”.
However, as he moved towards the second boy, the defendant was seen coming up behind him before initiating his attack with a knife seemingly drawn from his waistband. The video recorded a series of screams as the then 14-year-old inflicted the stab wounds and kicked him in the head, shouting: “Stupid b****rd. Stupid c***. Stupid little c***. Little t**t.”
A girl was heard screaming “you’ve stabbed [the female victim’s name]” as the youth and his accomplice made their escape on foot. The boy sustained a total of 11 stab wounds in the attack, including injuries to his liver and kidney.
The girl, on the other hand, suffered a single knife wound to her chest, puncturing her lung. Both victims underwent surgery under general anaesthetic due to their injuries, but have since made significant recoveries.
The stabbing incident reportedly stemmed from an earlier dispute at a location known as the Alt, near Tithe Barn Lane, where it is alleged that the injured boy threw a metal pole at another friend of the defendant. Following this initial altercation, he was taken to hospital for treatment to a forehead laceration.
The defendant, who has no prior convictions, was apprehended at his home shortly after 9.30pm that same evening. In a subsequent interview with detectives, he claimed that he had “never met [the other boy] before”.
Arthur Gibson, the prosecutor, read out a series of witness statements to the jury. Michael Pugh, the licensee of the nearby Johnny Todd pub, recounted: “At approximately half past eight, a member of the public, who I don’t know, entered the pub and stated ‘two kids have been stabbed outside the pub’. I’ve reacted by grabbing the first aid pack and the stab pack that the pub has behind the bar for emergencies. I’ve seen a young female, who I’ve seen being helped by Paula Pierce, the bar manager.
“I’ve seen a young male being helped by an old man, who I don’t know. I’ve run to the young male, who had towels and jackets pressed to his side. I checked the back of the male and noticed three puncture wounds. I told the old gentleman to keep pressure on the dressings.
“There was blood dripping onto my leg. It was coming from his arm. I noticed three stab wounds. I dressed the young male’s arm and maintained pressure onto it.
“I noticed the young man go dead grey and pale, and he tried to go to sleep. I kept trying to talk to him to keep him responsive. I reassured him, ‘you’re safe, you’re in shock, you’re not going anywhere’.”
Mr Pugh also reported asking the boy who had stabbed him, to which the boy responded “I’m no grass”. Ms Pierce, in her own statement, said she was walking along Whitefield Drive when she saw an “altercation” outside the Go Local Extra convenience store and heard cries of: “Help, help.”Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp group HERE
She recounted: “I saw a group of five people, youths, shouting and screaming. I heard a female shouting ‘get off him’. Two people were lying on the floor. I knew straight away they’d been stabbed. The blood was everywhere.”
Meanwhile, Dennis McKee, another man who came to the boy’s aid, had walked to the same shop with his granddaughter and dog, leaving both outside as he entered the store. However, while browsing the aisles, he stated: “I heard a sound that I recognised as a girl screaming. Soon after, I heard a lad screaming. I could see a lad on the floor and a person standing over the male, striking him.
“My first thought was to get to my granddaughter. He was crying out, ‘I’m dying, I can’t see’. I kept talking to him, telling him help was on the way.”
The boy, in his own testimony, told the court that he only intended to “batter” his victim, who he described as a “bully” who had “caused fires and mayhem” previously and been pictured on social media armed with machetes. From the witness box, he added: “As I was going up the road, I got shouted, and one of my neighbours said ‘listen that [victim] is a bully and he carries knives’, and he handed me the knife.”
