Burton Mail

Accused ‘in wrong place at wrong time’

DEFENCE IN BEN ORTON MURDER CASE DRAWS TO CLOSE

- By STAFF REPORTER editorial@burtonmail.co.uk

THE teenagers accused of murdering Benjamin Orton “were in the wrong place at the wrong time” and “posed no threat” to the youngster and his friend who were stabbed in an alleyway in Swadlincot­e, a court has heard.

On the final day of closing statements by the defence team, the jury was told the trio’s only crime was they “were in the wrong place at the wrong time” and they had simply been defending themselves against 17-year-old Benjamin Orton and his 20-year-old friend Joe Mcmullen when they saw them in Wragg Passage, next to the Odeon cinema, Swadlincot­e, on June 12.

Mr Orton died after being stabbed multiple times and Mr Mcmullen was left badly injured when he also suffered stab wounds in the incident.

Derby Crown Court has heard that the three defendants, all now aged 17 who cannot be identified for legal reasons, have each denied a charge of murder, attempted murder, manslaught­er and grievous bodily harm with intent. One of the youths, who was 16 at the time of the incident, has admitted possession of a knife. He claims he stabbed Mr Orton in self defence. One of the 17-year-olds also denies a charge of assisting an offender.

The court has been told that the 16-year-old stabbed Pingle Academy student Mr Orton 13 times. He died from his wounds at the scene despite the best efforts of paramedics. The defendant also stabbed Mr Mcmullen five times, causing life-changing injuries, the jury was told.

The jury has already seen rap videos created by the so-called Swadlincot­e gang ‘D11,’ in which Mr Orton appeared and appear to threaten the 16-year-old, the prosecutio­n says.

On the fateful night, the court was told Mr Orton and Mr Mcmullen were wearing “gang colours”, while Mr Orton was “armed” with a knife and Mr Mcmullen had a knuckledus­ter”, the prosecutio­n alleges.

Richard Atkins QC is representi­ng one of the 17-year-olds, who punched Mr Orton while he was being stabbed by the 16-year-old, he said.

The 17-year-old claims he did not know his 16-year-old co-defendant was stabbing Mr Orton at the time, and the 17-year-old was acting in self defence, claiming Mr Orton ran at him with a knife, the court heard.

Mr Atkins QC told the jury: “My client has no previous conviction­s or cautions. [My client and the other 17-year-old] did not inflict any stab wounds on anyone. Their only crime was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Joe and Ben were wearing their D11 gang colours. Isn’t it every parent’s worst nightmare when their child gets caught up in something not of their own making and find themselves on trial for the most serious offences?

“My client had been 30 seconds away from home in that alleyway when two armed young gang members approached him and his friends.

“The two lads [Mr Orton and Mr Mcmullen] went out of their way to follow these three lads [the defendants] not apparently knowing one of them was their sworn enemy?”

Mr Atkins denied the prosecutio­n’s claims that Mr Orton posed no threat, alleging that on the day before the incident, Mr Orton had been part of a group who robbed a person of his coat at knifepoint.

The jury was told by Mr Atkins that in August, 2019, Mr Orton robbed a victim of his phone and shoes in a supermarke­t car park. The victim had made racist comments and Mr Orton tried to get the victim to fight him, Mr Atkins alleges.

He said: “The police went to Ben’s mother’s house to inform her of her son’s death, when her partner came downstairs saying, ‘I told you he would get stabbed,’ adding that he had left the house with knives before.”

He went on to tell the jury: “My client wasn’t a gang member, he had never had a knife pulled on him.

“He said Ben ran at him and he thought he was about to be stabbed.

“He didn’t know what the 16-yearold was up to. He didn’t know that Ben no longer had a knife. He never went near Joe. He was trying to prevent himself from being stabbed.”

Mr Atkins also reminded the jury that Mr Mullen had not told the police who had stabbed him and Mr Orton at the time. The youths were only picked up as the 16-year-old had dropped his wallet, and by looking at CCTV.

The barrister told the court: “He didn’t want the police to know that him and Ben knew exactly who was down that passage. He wasn’t prepared to tell the police what happened. He had also thrown his knuckledus­ter over the wall [after the attack].”

The judge was due to address jury members who were then set to retire to consider their verdicts in the case.

The trial continues.

 ?? ?? Benjamin Orton
Benjamin Orton

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