Boy, 15, ‘plunged knife into man’, trial is told
A15-YEAR-OLD boy accused of the murder of Ian Schofield told police they’d find his fingerprints ‘all over the knife’ that killed him, a court heard.
The youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, stabbed the 37-year-old victim in an alleyway during a drug deal gone wrong, the hearing was told.
During a trial which is scheduled for two weeks, a jury at Liverpool Crown Court heard that the boy, along with another 28-year-old man, took a taxi to Devon Close prior to the fatal stabbing.
In a transcript of the boy’s first police interview the day after the incident read to the court, the boy said: “I stabbed him, my prints will come back off that knife and my DNA.”
He denies murder, claiming he had acted in self-defence. The boy also said in the interview that he had previously had a ‘beef’ with Mr Schofield and mutual threats had been made over the phone but he had not seen him for several months before that day, the court was told.
Det Con Birch also read the boy’s answer to whether he had been drinking before the incident.
He replied: “I’d had too much: 30 cans. I’d been drinking for six days, Export, Strongbow and Stella and a bit of weed.”
The boy claimed he went for the knife when he saw Mr Schofield reach towards his waist after a short argument.
Later in the interview, the teenager told detectives that for months he had ‘never gone out unprotected’ and always carried a weapon.
He said he had picked up the knife from the kitchen of a house he had been at prior to going to meet Mr Schofield to buy cocaine.
Prosecuting, Nigel Power QC said that the pair left the taxi and dashcam footage from the vehicle saw them disappear out of view into an alleyway. He said a wit- ness looking out of his window saw the teenager show a knife in his waistband to the older man before lunging at Mr Schofield. Showing the large bloodstained knife to the jury, Mr Power, said: “There was one stab wound.
“It severed Mr Schofield’s aorta and caused massive bleeding.
“The knife was left embedded in him. It penetrated to the hilt, 20.5 centimetres, the precise length of the blade.”
Both the boy and the 28-year-old are charged with conspiracy to rob Mr Schofield, but deny the charges. A pathologist’s report concluded that Mr Schofield, who died at the scene, lost 1.2 litres of blood following the incident at around 8.30pm on May 6.
Mr Power said that a witness in the company of the pair earlier that day had heard one of them say ‘why don’t we rob Legs?’.
A text message retrieved from the teenager’s phone contained a text message sent to Mr Schofield which said ‘taxi on the way to Devon Close, do me six fat things’, which the prosecution said was a clear reference to drugs.
Mr Power said neither of the defendants had any money on them.
When the 15-year-old returned to the waiting taxi five minutes after leaving it he allegedly said ‘go, go’ to the driver and offered him an extra £20 to drive away quickly.
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