A boy who stabbed a young man to death's claim he was acting in self-defence failed to convince a jury he was not guilty of murder.
The fatal incident took place on March 22 this on Market Street, Bury, when a confrontation between a 17-year-old boy, and Abdikarim Abdallah Ahmed, aged 18 and his brother Faisal, aged 19, ended with 18-year-old sixth former Abdikarim stabbed to death.
After his arrest and during the ensuing court case the boy from Kearsley who carried out the fatal stabbing claimed the knife was not his and that, having taken the blade out of his victim's hoodie, he had been acting in self-defence.
Giving evidence earlier in the trial, the boy said: "I was panicking, I could not believe what had just happened.
"Not for one moment did I think Abdul would die.
"I am so, so sorry and know that I have to live with this for the rest of my life."
Police were rushed to the scene on March 22 this year
The defendant claimed that he had been in fear for his life after Abdikarim and Faisal had 'south revenge' for an earlier incident in which Adikarim had been punched by a youth who was among a group of young men which included the accused.
But Alaric Bassano, prosecuting, dismissed the boy's account of the killing as 'ludicrous', particularly in the face of mounting evidence that the knife belonged to the assailant and not his 18-year-old victim.
Mr Bassano said: "The defendant's account of stumbling across this knife in the deceased's hoodie is ludicrous and, furthermore, is inconsistent with accounts of witnesses and inconsistent with CCTV footage."
He added that just two days before the fateful incident, the boy had texted "let's cop a shank", street slang for a knife or stabbing, to a friend.
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The court heard that the attacker and his associates fled the scene after Abdikarim, known to friends as Abdi, was stabbed and the boy left the blood-covered knife in a wheelie bin in North Back Rock, near Tithebarn Street.
Abdikarim then collapsed at the nearby Sky Bar and was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead at 5.39pm on March 22, prompting an immediate murder enquiry with the defendant arrested shortly afterwards.
Distraught testimony from the victim's brother Faisal given to police that same day relayed just how traumatising witnessing the act of violence had been.
He said: "I can't believe I witnessed my own brother stabbed.
"I don't know what to say, I really don't know what to say."
The jury was also told that the boy 'routinely' carried knives and was cautioned in 2019 for carrying a knife in a public place.
With the trial ongoing, the boy admitted that the 10cm combat knife used to kill his victim was in fact his own, but maintained he was acting in self defence.
Bernard Richmond, prosecuting, said: "Knife crime, knives are a menace and this case is another example of how brutal knives can be."
But Mr Richmond argued that the victim had been stabbed only once and that footage showing the boy drawing back after the initial stabbed showed that his actions had primarily been in self-defence.
He said: "Think about all the things that may have been going through his head."
Tributes left to Mr Ahmed in Bury town centre
With the arguments made, the jury where then sent out to make their decision.
They had the options of finding the boy not guilty if they were convinced of the self-defence argument, guilty of manslaughter if they believed he had not intended to kill or cause serious harm or guilty or murder.
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Judge Patrick Field QC warned them that emotions were likely to be running high and that they must think carefully when considering the boy's claims.
He said: "When considering his evidence you must apply the same standards as you would to every other witness in this case.
"What is relevant is what he had to say and how he said it."
Ultimately the jury were not convinced by the defence's arguments and the 17-year-old looked on silently from the dock, putting his head in his hands as the foreman read out the verdict.
After nearly three days of deliberations the eight women and four men found the defendant guilty of murder.
He will learn his fate at a sentencing hearing later this year.
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