Boy is guilty of stabbing man to death
ATEENAGE boy who plunged a knife more than 20cm into a man’s stomach after ‘drinking 30 cans’ of beer has been found guilty of killing him.
The teenager, who was 15 at the time of the killing in Macclesfield, claimed he was acting in self-defence and a jury found him not guilty of murder.
The jury unanimously found him guilty of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob the stabbing victim, Ian Schofield, 37, who was known widely in the town as ‘Legs’.
The boy cannot named for legal reasons.
A jury at Liverpool Crown Court heard that the boy, along with a 28-year-old man also charged with conspiracy to rob Mr Schofield, took a taxi to Devon Close, Macclesfield prior to the fatal stabbing on May 6 this year.
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 denied murder claiming he had acted in self-defence in stabbing Mr Schofield.
The court heard that the boy had said 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.
In the police interview, read in court, the boy was asked if he had been drinking earlier on the day of the killing.
The court heard he responded: “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 between them.
Later in the interview, the teenager told detectives that for months previous he had ‘never gone out unprotected’ and always carried a weapon while on the street.
He said he had picked up the knife from the kitchen of be a house where he had been drinking at with others prior to going to meet Mr Schofield to buy cocaine.
He and the 28-year-old took a taxi from Bollington, to Devon Close.
Prosecuting, Nigel Power QC said that after the pair got out of the cab at around 8.30pm, the dash cam in the cab recorded them disappearing out of view into an alleyway.
He said a person who happened to be looking out of a window at his house saw the teenager show a knife in his waistband to the man he was with, before lunging at Mr Schofield.
The prosecution allege that they travelled to meet Mr Schofield to ‘rob him of money and/or drugs’.
Mr Power said: “At the time neither of them had a bean to pay for the taxi or the drugs. The only currency they had was the threat of violence.”
He added that on the taxi tape the 28-year-old said ‘who’s a better back up than me? I’m not here for a jolly, if I say I’m going to do something I do it’.
Mr Power showed the bloodied knife to the jury and described the ‘horrific’ injuries Mr Schofield sustained, including a severed aorta.
Medical reports estimated he lost more than a litre of blood. The tip of the knife nicked his vertebrae, meaning the blade had passed through almost his entire torso.
He told the jury that a witness had clearly seen the teenager lunge towards Mr Schofield before standing for a few seconds then running off.
Defending the teenager, John McDermott told the jury his client had seen Mr Schofield make a movement towards his waistband and feared he was about to be stabbed. No weapon was found on Mr Schofield.
Mr McDermott said: “In his interview he said ‘it was either him or me’. That is the basis of his defence.”
The 28-year-old man who accompanied the teenager to the scene of Mr Schofield’s death was also found guilty of conspiracy to rob.
Justice Ian Dove adjourned the case for sentencing until next month.
In the days after his death Mr Schofield’s partner Sophie Palfreyman, 23, said that just three days before the tragic incident they had found out they were going to be parents together for the first time.
She said: “He always said he wanted children with me - we found out I was pregnant on May 3, just three days before this happened.
“He was so happy and excited that he told most people that day, before I even had chance to tell my mum. He told his mum he had never been happier.”
After the hearing, in a statement, Mr Schofield’s family said: “We would like to thank the legal team, police and jury for the conviction, this will not bring Ian back but gives some justice for the loss.
“Ian was big hearted and did not deserve what happened to him.
“He is much loved and missed and will be in our hearts forever.
“Carrying and using knives is unacceptable and needs to carry substantial sentences to act as a deterrent for those contemplating carrying weapons.”
Det Insp Sarah Oliver, who led the investigation, said: “When they met up with him, for a reason we’ll never fully comprehend, the boy produced a large knife and lunged at Ian.
“His actions were shocking - even to his accomplice.
“The single stab wound was savage and sadly proved fatal.
“Ian was on his way to a barbecue when he made the impromptu stop off.
“He never made it to the barbecue.
“His family’s life fell apart that day and they are struggling to come to terms with how someone could carry out such a senseless attack.
“What is even more tragic is that his girlfriend is due to give birth to his child, who will never get to know and love his father.
“The teenager has left a child fatherless and a whole family bereft of someone they loved very much.
“I just hope this boy can understand the immense hurt and pain he has caused this family.”