Four teens jailed over killing of 16-year-old boy stabbed in 'revenge' attack in Manchester

Granada Reports' Tim Scott has been speaking to Kennie Carter's parents

A 16-year-old boy who killed another teenager boy by stabbing him in the chest has been jailed for life.

Kennie Carter, 16, whose family described him as a "cheeky chappy" died after being stabbed as he walked home in Stretford, Manchester in January 2022, in an act of "revenge" for an incident the previous day.

He was on the phone to his older brother at the time and told him: "They’ve stabbed me in my heart bro."

The 16-year-old, whose name can't be released for legal reasons, was found guilty of murder and will serve at least 16 years and 60 days behind bars.

Latif Ferguson, 18, was sentenced to 5 years detention and two other 16-year-olds were sentenced to four years detention after all being found guilty of manslaughter for their involvement.

In total, 10 defendants went on trial, with the jury being told they could find each one of them guilty of either murder or manslaughter, although there was no evidence that any of the other nine had any weapons, or played any active role in the killing at all.

Six were cleared, but the jury found Boy A guilty of murder and three others guilty of manslaughter through joint enterprise.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) explained more about joint enterprise in this case: "If a person assists or encourages another to commit a murder, with intent to kill or cause serious harm, they can face prosecution for their involvement.

"Prosecutors must prove to a jury beyond reasonable doubt that each defendant played a part and is therefore guilty of a crime.

"They do this by using all available evidence to piece together each defendant’s role in a crime.

"All four of the convicted defendants in this case ran away from the scene after Kennie had been stabbed. No one called for help. No one came to his aid. They were all seen on CCTV fleeing the scene.

"The principal attacker – a 16-year-old boy that the jury convicted of murder – was seen on CCTV callously miming and reenacting the stabbing motion he had just carried out on his victim.

"Others in the group also named him as the culprit".

The CPS continued: "No-one is ever charged simply because they were in the street or around or about an offence. But a person can be guilty of manslaughter as a secondary party if they act to encourage or assist the offence, with the intent that some harm will be inflicted.

"By demonstrating the actions of the defendants over the course of the evening, the prosecution was able to convince the jury of their guilt.

"The defendants travelled together to Stretford with a motive, they deliberately hunted out those involved in the altercation from the night before, they sought to cause disorder by stealing bikes from the area before declaring: “this is revenge”.

"They then together spotted and followed Kennie who was alone, as a group. They killed him as a group."

In a statement Kennie's mum, Joan Dixon, said life for the family was "stuck on the day Kennie was killed" and would "never ever be the same".

She said Kennie "brightened up every day with his cheeky smile and his bubbly personality", and said he was "always acting daft, telling jokes and generally being a 16-year-old boy.

"He was our baby, the youngest of our four children, and just starting out in life. He had so many plans for his future.

"Life since the day of his murder has not been the same. We all miss Kennie so much, every day I wake up thinking of him, I dream about him regularly."

Rebecca Macaulay-Addison, Specialist Prosecutor for CPS North West’s Complex Casework Unit, said: "Although only one of the teenagers inflicted the fatal wound, the others encouraged that act by identifying and locating a target for revenge and by further chasing and being present in sufficient numbers which supported him.

"They all shared a common purpose of retaliation and an intention to cause harm. Following the stabbing, they all fled together, leaving as a group, as they had arrived.

"They made no attempt to stop the attack, showed no remorse after the stabbing and fled the scene, leaving Kennie to die.

"Nothing can bring Kennie back. I can only hope that Kennie’s family can begin to move forward, knowing those responsible for their unimaginable loss have been brought to justice."

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