‘Knife-obsessed’ teen stabbed friend to death and filmed body
ABRUTAL killer who knifed a friend to death then posted video footage of his lifeless victim has been jailed for life with a minimum term of more than 16 years.
Teenager Mark Harley Jones, who was said to have been “obsessed” with knives, murdered Kyle Patrick Walley on July 11, 2021, following an argument.
The pair had planned to watch the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy but Mr Walley, who was 19, was knifed to death ahead of kick-off when a row descended into fatal violence.
Yesterday 19-year-old Jones was locked up for life.
A trial at Mold Crown Court was told Jones had shared his visit to the property on Snapchat.
It initially showed how the pair were drinking alcohol, with bottles of whisky and other spirits shown in a seconds-long clip.
The court heard that Jones’ posts started to take a more sinister turn, with one clip showing him alone talking directly to the camera, saying he was going to “chef someone up” – an expression that the prosecution said referred to plans of stabbing someone.
The court was shown another video clip, captured and uploaded by Jones, that showed the men involved in a heated argument.
It then cut to a clip of a lifeless Walley, who appeared to have fallen into and then behind the sofa.
Jones, still filming, was shown to be “stamping” on his bleeding victim and shouting at him, the court heard.
A final clip saw Jones, now having fled the scene on his bike, filming his blood-soaked hands.
“Man’s gonna get loads of time for stabbing him up,” said Jones to his followers on the app while also claiming “loads of people were after” Walley and that his victim “deserved it”.
The fatal stabbing was “waiting to happen,” said prosecutor John Philpotts KC, who also told jurors Jones had a “clear obsession” with knives.
The court heard that the teenager had looked up various types of knives on Google prior to the killing.
During the sentencing hearing, a victim impact statement was read on behalf of Robert Walley, the father of the victim.
He said his son’s death was “horrific”, that the teenager had had the best years of his life taken away from him, and he was waiting to start an electrician’s apprenticeship at the time of his death.
The social media aspect of the murder was branded “incredibly difficult to deal with” by Mr Walley’s father, who said he had tried to avoid the grim footage.
He said: “Knowing our son’s murder was filmed and circulated online is horrific.”
Jones, of Chester Road, in Wrexham, had denied murder following the incident in Rhosymedre. He was found guilty by a jury, who rejected the defendant’s claim that he had acted in self-defence.
Andrew Ford KC, mitigating, said he was aware of his client’s “unhealthy background interest” in knives and his “bravado-like” attitude after the killing would be taken into account by the judge when passing sentence.
Lord Justice Stephen Eyre told the court: “I regard the humiliation of Kyle Walley’s body and posting material online to Snapchat as a very serious aggravating factor.”
Lord Justice Eyre, addressing Jones, said Mr Walley died “because of your selfish desire for notoriety”.
He said the victim was “just starting out on his adult life” with hopes of being able to settle down.
“You put an end to all those hopes,” said the judge to Jones, before branding his actions of posting the vile footage online as “cruel and heartless”.
Passing a life sentence, the judge ordered him to serve a minimum term of 16 years and 126 days behind bars. He called the killer “despicable” and branded the Snapchat footage “sickening”.