Boy, 15, admits murdering Khayri Mclean in 'planned attack' outside North Huddersfield Trust School

A 15-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to the murder of another teenager in a "planned attack" outside their school gates.

Khayri Mclean, 15, was stabbed while making his way home from North Huddersfield Trust School on 21 September, 2022.

Leeds Crown Court heard that as Khayri left the school on Woodhouse Hall Road in Huddersfield with his friends, he was met by a 15-year-old and 16-year-old who "charged" towards him.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC said that the 15-year-old shouted "Oi Khayri" or "Yo Khayri" before jumping in the air, swinging a knife with a 30cm blade and stabbing Khayri in the chest.

The knife went through his ribs and penetrated one of his lungs and his heart.

Mr Sandiford said Khayri fell to the floor and was "defenceless on his back" when the 16-year-old went after him with a knife and stabbed him again.

He told jurors: "Khayri was able to lift his legs to block the blow and so the knife penetrated his lower leg rather than a more vital part of his body."

The 15-year-old has today pleaded guilty to murder. The 16-year-old, who has since turned 17, denies murder and is on trial. The accused cannot be named due to their ages.

Prosecutors say that although the older defendant did not inflict the fatal blow, he is guilty of murder because the pair acted together and were "encouraging and supporting each other to carry out the attack".

Mr Sandiford added: "This was not an act of spontaneous violence, but a planned attack in which they armed themselves with knives, changed some of their clothing and wore balaclavas to hide their identities before going to lie in wait to attack Khayri as he walked home from school."

The court heard the two accused were dressed in black clothes with black balaclavas and their eyes covered, possibly with sunglasses.

After attacking Khayri, jurors were told they ran away together back down the alleyway from which they had run out of to attack him.

Mr Sandiford said they stopped to remove their balaclavas and the clothes worn for the attack, leaving them in bags "concealed in woodland" along with what was "most likely the knives used to murder Khayri". He said they were later retrieved and disposed of by others.

He added: "Having changed their appearances, they continued to make their getaway, calmly walking to within a short distance of where Khayri lay fatally injured in the street."

Jurors heard that Khayri was helped up by his friends after being stabbed and ran a short distance back towards his school before he collapsed.

Paramedics, a passing doctor and air ambulance staff helped Khayri before he was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary. He died at 5pm on the same day.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of Khayri staggering backwards after the fatal stabbing and falling to the ground before being stabbed by the older defendant. One member of Khayri's family ran out of the courtroom at this point.

Mr Sandiford said the CCTV also showed the younger defendant dropping one of his mobile phones at the scene, which he said was "an important piece of evidence that led to the tracing of the two defendants, and the DNA of the 15-year-old was found on the Sim card".

The court heard the 17-year-old's mother had texted him saying: "Your enemy has been stabbed and it doesn't look good."

He was arrested in the early hours of 22 September and the 15-year-old handed himself in later that day.

Mr Sandiford said the 17-year-old has since claimed in a defence statement that he went to the school to confront another person who he believed had broken windows at his mother's house.

The court heard he was concerned this person and his friends might have knives with them and so he picked up "a small kitchen knife to defend himself if necessary".

He did not name his co-accused but said "another boy" offered to come with him. The defence statement said he swung his knife at Khayri "in panic" as he "feared he would be attacked".

The prosecution said that this was "a pack of lies".

Mr Sandiford added: "This was a well-planned and targeted attack on Khayri Mclean with the intention of killing him or at least causing him really serious harm."

The trial continues.

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