Knife-obsessed man,19, stabbed friend in heart
ATEENAGER “obsessed” with knives shoved a blade through his friend’s heart, then filmed the aftermath and posted it on social media.
Mark Harley Jones, 19, murdered Kyle Patrick Walley on July 11, 2021, when a row at the victim’s flat resulted in violence.
Prosecutor John Philpotts KC told a court the friends had planned to watch the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy but Mr Walley, who was 19, was dead before the match even began.
A trial at Mold Crown Court was told Jones had documented his visit to the property on his Snapchat account.
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 how 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.
During the exchange, Jones could be heard shouting: “It’s my ADHD lad.”
It then cut to a clip of a lifeless Mr 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 that was recovered from the social media platform 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 that “loads of people were after” Mr Walley and that his victim “deserved it”.
The fatal stabbing was “waiting to happen”, said Mr Philpotts who also told jurors Jones had a “clear obsession” with knives.
The court heard how the teenager had looked up various types of knives on Google prior to the killing and carried out research into the murder of a south Wales teenager that involved a stabbing by viewing several BBC News reports.
Jones, of Chester Road in Wrexham, had denied murder following the incident in Rhosymedre.
But yesterday it took just over four hours for a jury to return a unanimous guilty verdict as they rejected the defendant’s claim that he had acted in self-defence.
Jones, wearing a navy tracksuit, remained emotionless in the dock as the verdict was returned. Lord Justice Stephen Eyre thanked the men and women of the jury for their service before telling the defendant that a short period of time would be needed before an inevitably lengthy prison sentence would be passed.
“This is an important matter and I want a proper opportunity to reflect on the minimum term the defendant will have to serve,” the judge said.
Jones will be sentenced today.