Boy, 15, found guilty of murdering Birmingham teenager

A 15-year-old boy has been found guilty of murdering a teenager who was stabbed in the heart.

Muhammad Hassam Ali, known as Ali, died in hospital hours after being attacked in Victoria Square, Birmingham, on January 20.

Two 15-year-old boys, who cannot be named because of their age, went on trial for the murder of 17-year-old Ali and possession of a knife at Coventry Crown Court.

On Friday, a jury found one of them guilty of murder and possession of a knife, while the other was convicted of manslaughter and possession of a knife.

The court heard Ali and a friend had hot chocolate at a cafe before heading to the market where they “just sat around chatting and using their phones”.

They were then approached by the two youths who followed them from Grand Central Shopping Centre.

They asked Ali and his friend if they knew who “jumped a partner” of theirs the week before and where they came from.

The killer claimed Ali and his friend told them to leave before Ali told them he didn’t know what he was talking about and uttered a curse word.

The court heard one of the youths then produced a large knife and stabbed Ali in the chest before fleeing the scene.

The boy who had the knife told the jury that he only pulled it out to scare Ali and his friend and that he did not intend to hurt or kill anyone.

He said he carried a knife for protection because he had been attacked several times before and felt “regretful and angry” when he learned of Ali’s death.

The other youth, who did not give evidence during the trial but spoke to police after he was arrested, said he was in “shock and tears” after the attack, claiming he did not know his friend had a knife on him until not presented to him. during the confrontation.

He said he tried to get him to leave the pair alone so he could go get food as planned.

He also said he had never seen Ali or his friend before and was only with the killer in case he “got beat up”.

There were gasps from the public gallery as the jury of six men and six women returned their unanimous verdicts on Friday.

The teenagers will be sentenced at a date to be determined at the beginning of October.