Boy, 17, is found guilty of murdering 15-year-old who was stabbed to death near a school
- Khayri McLean collapsed outside his school in Huddersfield after being stabbed
- The 15-year-old was flown to hospital by air ambulance but died later that day
A 17-year-old boy has been found guilty of the murder of Khayri Mclean, who was stabbed to death as he walked home from school.
The killer, who was 16 at the time, was found guilty of killing the 15-year-old following a trial at Leeds Crown Court.
During a week-long trial, prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC told jurors that Khayri was met by the two defendants who were waiting for him as he left the school on Woodhouse Hall Road with his friends.
Mr Sandiford said they ‘charged’ towards him aggressively and the 15-year-old stabbed Khayri in the chest with what proved to be a fatal blow, as it went through his ribs and penetrated one of his lungs and heart.
Khayri McLean (pictured) had just left school with friends when he was set upon by two youths aged 15 and 17, wearing balaclavas and armed with knives
Khayri was able to stagger a short distance before collapsing outside his school (pictured) in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. He later died of his injuries
He said Khayri fell to the floor and was ‘defenceless on his back’ when the older defendant, who denied murder, went after him, knife in hand, and stabbed him in his lower leg.
Prosecutors said that although this defendant did not inflict the fatal blow, he was guilty of murder because the pair acted together and were ‘encouraging and supporting each other to carry out that attack’.
Mr Sandiford told the jury of eight women and four men: ‘The prosecution says this was a well-planned and targeted attack on Khayri Mclean with the intention of killing him or at least causing him really serious harm.’
Khayri was stabbed by the first attacker he was then stabbed through the leg by the second as he lay on the ground
One attacker shouted then jumped in the air ‘like some ninja’ with a knife in his hand and swung the blade towards Khayri’s shoulder, jurors were told. Pictured: the police cordon after the killing
Giving evidence, the 17-year-old denied targeting Khayri, telling a court he went to the scene for a ‘fist fight’ with another youth.
He showed no emotion as the jury verdict was read out after just under five hours of deliberations.
The judge, Mrs Justice Farbey, told the older defendant, who cannot be named, there will be a hearing on Thursday to discuss the next steps in the case but sentencing will take place at a later date to be fixed.
Evidence had been heard earlier in the case that Khayri was knifed after he walked out of the RSK gang, which he had joined as a Year 10 pupil.
Prosecutor George Hazel-Owram had said a witness told police ‘he thought this incident had happened because Khayri was in a gang and had left the gang’.
‘He thought Khayri had joined the gang partway through Year 10,’ he said. ‘He had seen Khayri post about the gang on social media.’
Another friend of Khayri who saw the killing said the attackers ‘had been waiting for Khayri and recognised him’.
‘They knew who Khayri was, they were aggressive and it was clear they wanted to hurt Khayri badly,’ Mr Hazel-Owram said in his summary.
Jurors were told the fatal attack happened shortly before 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon last September. Pictured: Flowers and messages at the scene where Khayri McLean was stabbed
A witness who knew the teenager said he has recently left a gang and that he had been ‘targeted’ because he quit the group. Pictured are people leaving tributes last September
A passing A&E consultant Dr Safa Kaftaim came across the scene as two teachers were desperately trying to help Khayri.
The schoolboy had a faint pulse, the court heard, and the doctor told the teachers to lay Khayri with his legs above his head.
‘I knew he was going to arrest and we were going to lose his pulse,’ the doctor said, who then began chest compressions until police and paramedics arrived.
The jury heard that wounds did not look bad from the outside, but the doctor ‘knew the injuries could be catastrophic inside.’
The 17-year-old is said to have stabbed Khayri in the leg. Although the older teenager did not inflict the fatal blow, the prosecution say he is guilty of murder because he acted with his co-accused and they ‘encouraged and supported each other to carry out the attack’.
The jury heard how calls were made between the older defendant and the 15-year-old. The court also heard from a taxi driver who picked up a male that day wearing a surgical mask around 2.13pm and asked to be taken to Woodhouse Hill.
At 2.18pm, the 17-year-old received a Snapchat audio message, Mr Hazel-Owram said, linked to his partner. The message hears a female voice say: ‘How comes you are going in 20 minutes when they finish school in like 10 minutes?’
CCTV footage shows the defendants walking along the footpath near Jacinth Court towards Aquamarine Drive at 2.19pm, the court heard.
The 17-year-old received another call to his phone at 2.41pm, jurors heard. Khayri was shown on CCTV leaving North Huddersfield Trust School at 2.45pm, and the 17-year-old is said to have received a 24-second call at 2.48pm.
The CCTV entry in the timeline at 2.51pm shows Khayri falling to the floor, the court heard. The 15-year-old is shown and the 17-year-old was shown with an item in his right hand, prosecutors said.
Source: Read Full Article
