A schoolboy who fatally stabbed an older boy he claimed was trying to rob him, has been sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court today, 17 September to eight years’ imprisonment.
The 16-year-old from Marylebone, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of the manslaughter of 18-year-old Bilal Mirza in Salisbury Street, NW8 on 8 January this year.
The court heard how the defendant and Bilal were known to each other; it was even described as an apparent friendship. However, the defendant claimed he became aware that Bilal planned to rob him of money and his iPhone and that his arming himself with a knife was a means of self-defence.
What is not in doubt was that the defendant and Bilal came together in Salisbury Street that night on the 8 January, and that during that altercation – described by some witnesses as an argument – the defendant lunged at Bilal stabbing him in the leg.
Bilal was treated by paramedics at the scene but sadly died en-route to hospital. His cause of death was given as a stab wound to his right thigh that caused massive blood loss.
The defendant left the scene and eventually returned home. He later handed himself in to police at Paddington Green police station.
The defendant initially claimed to police that the knife he used was a “little tool” with a three to four inch blade. It has never been recovered and the truth of where and how he got rid of the murder weapon has never been established.
The pathologist performing the post-mortem examination, however, believed the blade that inflicted the fatal wound was much larger at around five inches long and two inches wide – like a kitchen knife.
In court under cross-examination, the defendant stated that Bilal had taken a knife to the scene and it was this knife that the defendant took from Bilal and used to stab him. He claimed self-defence and denied bringing a knife of his own to the scene.
The defendant also claimed he had been trying to avoid Bilal that night, but the prosecution assertion was that he would have been aware of where Bilal was and took no action to take an alternative route home.
The 16-year-old was convicted at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday, 16 July.
Detective Sergeant Michael Hamlet from the Homicide and Major Crime Command said: “This case demonstrates the utterly devastating effects that knives can have on London communities.
“Bilal, a much-loved son, grandson and brother, had his life tragically cut short and a schoolboy is set to be sentenced for his death.”