Man stabbed with machete
Court in England convicts two 12-year-olds of murder
11.06.2024, 00:26
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In November 2023, two twelve-year-olds stabbed a 19-year-old to death in a park in England. A court has now found the two boys guilty. This makes them the youngest convicted murderers in Great Britain in decades. The sentence is still pending.
Two 12-year-olds in England have been found guilty in a sensational murder case. The jury at the Nottingham court found it proven that the two boys stabbed a 19-year-old man to death with a machete in November 2023. The children are now considered the youngest convicted murderers in Britain since the killing of little James Bulger by two 10-year-olds over 30 years ago. The exact sentence will be announced at a later date.
The perpetrators had attacked the 19-year-old and his companion in a park in the city of Wolverhampton near Birmingham. While the friend was able to escape, the 19-year-old stumbled and was then kicked, beaten and attacked by the boys with the 42.5-centimeter-long machete. One stab wound hit him in the heart.
The defendants accused each other during the months-long trial. Ultimately, however, the jury found both of them guilty. The motive for the crime remained unclear during the trial. The 19-year-old and his friend had come across the two boys and a girl of the same age in the park. The people involved did not know each other. One of the defendants testified that the victim had rudely ordered them to vacate a bench. The prosecutor emphasized that there was no reason for the attack and that the 19-year-old had behaved peacefully.
In England and Wales, children aged ten and over are considered criminally responsible. However, minors are treated differently than adults in prison and serve their sentences in special centers. The number of violent crimes committed with stabbing weapons has recently increased in Great Britain. In 2023, there were almost 50,000, seven percent more than in 2022.