Title: Schoolboy who murdered rival by stabbing him through the heart on packed bus is jailed for 12 years Dated: 9-11-2013
Derek Boateng was knifed through the heart on his 16th birthday by 15-year-old Shawn Green as horrified passengers tried to separate the two boys....
**Schoolboy who stabbed a teenage rival to death on a packed bus was yesterday found guilty of murder and jailed for at least 12 years.
Shawn Green, then 15, plunged a knife into the heart of rival Derek Boateng, who was celebrating his 16th birthday that day.
An Old Bailey jury heard how Green boarded a bus on April 23 this year and, seeing Derek, pulled the knife from his waistband.
Derek, who also had a knife, was stabbed once in the chest as passengers tried to separate the two boys.
Green, 16, of Romford, East London, denied murder and claimed he had only started carrying a knife after Derek beat him up.
After a jury returned a guilty verdict at the Old Bailey today, Judge Peter Thornton QC jailed Green for a minimum of 12 years and lifted reporting restrictions to allow his name to be published by the media for the first time, a court official said.
During the trial, prosecutor Tom Kark QC said there appeared to have been some ''previous dispute'' between the boys.
''The specific circumstances of that may not be very clear and may not matter very much,'' he said.
''Whatever had gone on before, we say this act was a senseless act of violence. It resulted in the tragic and untimely death of a young boy.
''Furthermore is the sad fact that both the defendant and the victim, Derek Boateng, were carrying knives and both produced them.
''But the prosecution suggest that it's clear who was the aggressor in this incident, and that was the defendant.''
Mr Kark said CCTV footage from cameras on board the bus had captured much of the incident, although some of it was obscured by other passengers who looked on in shock as the attack unfolded moments after Green got on outside his school just after 3pm.
Jurors were shown clips from the footage, and the trial had to be halted for 10 minutes after one of them burst into tears.
The victim, from Hackney, east London, had previously attended the school in Islington but was no longer a pupil there, the court heard.
Mr Kark said there appeared to be ''immediate hostility'' from the defendant as he boarded the bus and saw Derek sitting towards the back.
He told jurors that Green ''aggressively'' moved past other passengers towards Derek and asked ''something of the nature of 'Do you remember me?'''
Green, who was 15 at the time of the incident, then produced what was described by witnesses as a 6in-8in kitchen knife from his clothes and was seen to push it towards Derek ''two or three times'', Mr Kark said.
''There was panic, there was shouting and screaming on the bus as the passengers started to realise what was happening,'' said the prosecutor.
Mr Kark said Derek was ''very much hemmed in'' where he was sitting, but witnesses described how he tried to move back towards the window in an attempt to get away from his attacker.
Green, from Romford in Essex, admitted stabbing Derek but claimed he was acting in self-defence, the court heard.
Derek was taken to the Royal London Hospital in east London by air ambulance following the stabbing but died the following day.
The knife used to stab him was never recovered but his own weapon was found in his jacket, the court heard.
Following the verdict, Detective Chief Inspector Chris Jones, from Scotland Yard's homicide and major crime command, said: "This was an appalling attack on a crowded bus as it stopped for school pupils outside Highbury Grove School.
"It is dreadful to think that Derek, who was celebrating his 16th birthday, lost his life over nothing more than a brief clash with another teenager.
"This dreadful tragedy has left a family grieving for a much-loved son, brother and friend who had everything to live for.
"The incident has also wrecked another teenager's life and Derek's 16-year-old attacker will now spend many years behind bars. It demonstrates the devastating consequences of carrying knives and the serious harm it has on our communities."
Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/schoolboy-shawn-green--jailed-2710840
The following is more info about said sad case....
Title: Teenager 'stabbed to death on bus next to terrified passengers'
Dated: 29-10-2013
A 15-year-old boy in school uniform stabbed a fellow pupil to death on a packed bus in front of horrified passengers, the Old Bailey heard.
The teenager struck down Derek Boateng on the victim’s 16th birthday after making a “bee-line” for him on the 393 single decker in Highbury, the jury was told.
Derek was making his way home to Hackney when he was attacked at the back of the bus in mid-afternoon in April this year.
Both boys tussled and drew knives but Derek was “very much hemmed in”, sitting next to a terrified passenger, jurors heard.
Prosecutor Tom Kark said it was clear the defendant - who is now 16 and cannot be named for legal reasons - was the aggressor.
“The blade penetrated the right lower part of his chest and pierced - unfortunately - the right ventricle of his heart,” he said.
Derek had been a pupil at the same school as his alleged killer, who wore the school’s uniform during the attack, the court heard.
"It appeared that there had been some sort of previous dispute between the two boys,” said Mr Kark.
“Whatever had gone on before, this was a senseless act of violence which resulted in the tragic and untimely death of a young boy.
“Both the defendant and his victim Derek were carrying knives and both produced them.”
The defendant admits stabbing Derek but he was acting in lawful self-defence, Mr Kark said.
The jury was shown CCTV from the bus, which clearly showed the shock of fellow passengers and their desperate efforts to separate the pair and save Derek’s life.
A juror became hysterical as the footage was shown prompting the judge to halt the case for 10 minutes.
The weapon was a kitchen knife between six to eight inches long, the court heard.
The victim was taken by helicopter to hospital but died the next day.
The boy, from the Romford area, denies murder. The trial continues.
Source: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/teenager-stabbed-to-death-on-bus-next-to-terrified-passengers-8910536.html
Paulina says: Since reading about this case in the Evening Standard newspaper some weeks back -I just haven't been able to shake it off. I can't even begin to imagine what the Boateng family is going through -especially as Christmas is fast approaching.
I am a parent of a beautiful nine year old boy, and I know first hand that parenting isn't easy. You worry all the time -but a child not coming home -the horror!!!
But I'm wondering and praying.... As a community what can we do????
The truth is many of us Ghanaians live in some of the worst neighbourhoods in the UK(world) and I just don't know, what can we do????
What are the black (Ghanaian) churches -most are in some of the most deprived areas --doing??? Why can't they open their doors during the week to the youth???? Why can't they mentor the youth...
Its probably old fashioned now, and I'm sooo showing my age but --when I was growing up we used to be carted off to Fante School every Saturday, and some evenings were spent with other children from my mothers Fante village group (or something) and were never allowed out during the week day (it was all homework -after all) but what has happened?? I am sooo thankful to my parents --now.
I must also take this opportunity to thank my parents for working very hard to move us (the Opoku-Gyimah family) from a council flat in Manor House to a huge house in Edmonton and then to lovely family home in Waltham Cross... I can't thank them enough for just how positively this has shaped me and my siblings...
I'm thinking it might just be time for us to up our game and pray ---and try harder and start moving out of some of these forsaken, no-go areas.
We also need to start demanding some help from our churches -we are tithing our 10% --after-all....
We the Ghanaian community need to start acting as a community -again, and start being responsible and nurturing all children, not just our own..
I remember when I used to be more afraid of bumping into a Ghanaian 'anuty' whilst out and about expressing myself than a teacher or police --because I knew that if I was found misbehaving -it would be the end of the world ---when Mr & Mrs Opoku-Gyimah found out (mercy)..
And I'm thinking that maybe we need 'Ghanaian' language classes in the UK (and beyond) --again, be they Ga or Ewe or Twi or whatever --and we need them now!!!
Honestly.... it wasn't just about learning my mother tongue -but about being with like minded kids, who's parents wanted the best for them, to keep them safe and to hold onto their culture... Plus they were all as hell-bent as my own parents ....in not wanting us kids to go astray...
I feel sooo sad, its feels like something has broken in the Ghanaian community (and the black community at large) and we are losing ourselves. Only we can't afford to carry on like this, we need to act now!!!!
Our community leaders need to come together, we a dialogue -and solutions, and 'that' community spirit back...
Do read: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/derek-boateng-tributes-teenager-died-1854031
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