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Footballer stab killer detained | Footballer stab killer detained |
(41 minutes later) | |
A 14-year-old boy who accidentally stabbed his friend, a promising footballer, in the neck in east London has been detained for six years. | A 14-year-old boy who accidentally stabbed his friend, a promising footballer, in the neck in east London has been detained for six years. |
Michael Ematuwo admitted the manslaughter of Jahmal Mason-Blair, 17. | |
Jahmal, from Dalston, east London, was stabbed in a street in Hackney, east London, in May. He died at the scene. | Jahmal, from Dalston, east London, was stabbed in a street in Hackney, east London, in May. He died at the scene. |
The Old Bailey heard Jahmal had been trying to protect Ematuwo from a youth but the defendant accidentally stabbed Jahmal while waving a flick knife. | The Old Bailey heard Jahmal had been trying to protect Ematuwo from a youth but the defendant accidentally stabbed Jahmal while waving a flick knife. |
Memorial game | |
Jahmal's friends said he dreamed of being a professional footballer and he had trials for Reading, Tottenham Hotspur and Watford. | Jahmal's friends said he dreamed of being a professional footballer and he had trials for Reading, Tottenham Hotspur and Watford. |
He played for Borehamwood Football Club, which played a memorial game for him with Crystal Palace. | He played for Borehamwood Football Club, which played a memorial game for him with Crystal Palace. |
Jahmal's father, Wesley Blair, said his son had gone out on the night of his death because he had been late coming home from working as a bus driver. | |
Ematuwo accidentally caught Jahmal's back while waving a knife | |
He added: "I think about him playing football and never being able to see him playing again." | |
Judge Paul Worsley told Ematuwo: "It was the carrying of a knife which led to the death of Jahmal. | |
"You have destroyed the life of his family. Jahmal was the bright star in the lives of his family. | "You have destroyed the life of his family. Jahmal was the bright star in the lives of his family. |
"He was a decent, popular boy and a talented footballer. He was a boy who met his death trying to stop violence, not causing it." | "He was a decent, popular boy and a talented footballer. He was a boy who met his death trying to stop violence, not causing it." |
Baroness Mallalieu QC, defending, said the offence had been motivated by fear. | |
She said: "This is a young man who has lost a friend." | |
Detective Inspector Andy Yeats said: "A dispute between two boys over a bicycle has cost the life of Jahmal, because in the heat of the moment a weapon was produced. | |
"If you carry a knife, regardless of your intentions, you are in possession of a lethal weapon. I struggle to comprehend the stupidity of a small minority who continue to do so." |