Cleared of killing after juror ‘error’
Prosecutors mull retrial
THREE men were accidentally cleared of killing a 32-year-old man after a jury forewoman made a “mistake”.
The family of victim Adrian Keise left court tearful and shaken after brothers Paul and Matthew Yusuff and their friend Moussa Traore were acquitted.
Soon after the Old Bailey jury was discharged on Wednesday, Judge Charles Gratwicke reassembled the court after receiving a note indicating the mistake.
Despite opposition from the defence, the judge recalled the jury and questioned the forewoman about what happened.
Asked if she had made a “mistake” when she said they had unanimous verdicts, the woman replied: “Yes.”
The judge then told jurors he would accept a verdict on which at least 10 agreed and told them to resume deliberations.
Yesterday, the jury was discharged for a second time after deliberating for a total of 12 hours and 44 minutes.
Asked if they had reached any verdicts on which at least 10 agreed, the forewoman initially said “no”. She quickly corrected herself by saying that they had found Paul Yusuff not guilty of possessing a blade or point.
Jurors were unable to agree on verdicts in relation to murder charges against Paul, 21, and brother Matthew, 23. They also faced lesser charges of manslaughter along with Traore, but no verdict was reached.
Defence barrister Kerim Fuad KC said he was “extremely troubled” by what happened and expressed concern that the defendants were being detained “illegally”. The prosecution was given seven days to consider whether to seek a retrial.
The trial heard Adrian, 32, was chased by three men near London’s Waterloo station in the early hours of October 29, 2022.
Matthew Yusuff wielded a bottle and Paul Yusuff stabbed Adrian in the back three times with a knife, it was alleged. He died from his injuries in hospital.
CCTV footage showed three men, said to be the defendants, surrounding the victim. The defendants, from South London, had denied all the charges.