Chilling: Ten teens kill a boy for no reason

Ten teenagers have been found guilty of murdering an 18-year-old man as he walked home from a funfair.

Jack Woodley suffered a fatal stab wound while being punched, kicked and stamped upon in Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, on 16 October.

He was “surrounded and isolated” by the group, who were strangers to him, and chased down an alleyway beside a pub.

The youths, aged 14 to 18, will be sentenced in August, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

At the start of the trial in March, the boys all denied murder and manslaughter charges, aside from a 15-year-old who admitted manslaughter. None of them can be identified for legal reasons.

Jurors took more than three days to reach their unanimous verdicts and as they were read out several of the defendants looked shocked and distressed, clutching their heads and rocking back and forth.

Prosecutors said the youths had been intent on attacking someone at the Houghton Feast funfair on 16 October and Mr Woodley came to their attention for a “trivial reason”.

He was challenged to a “one on one fight” but declined, then he and his four friends were followed by about 30 young people as they walked into the town centre.

As Mr Woodley neared the Britannia Inn a 16-year-old boy ran up from behind and punched him in the head.

Others separated him from his friends and joined in the assault, having covered their heads moments before.

Amid the frenzy of punches and kicks, there were shouts of “get the chopper out” and a 15-year-old boy pulled a “Rambo-style” knife from his trousers and stabbed Mr Woodley in the back.

The boy with the knife fled but the rest continued to rain blows on Mr Woodley and pursued him down an alley where the attack resumed.

Jurors heard that the group “prevented him from escaping and other people from helping him”.

Witnesses described the scene as like animals attacking a piece of meat, with one telling the jury it appeared to be a deliberate attempt to kill.

The onslaught lasted just over a minute and ended with Mr Woodley, who witnesses described as looking petrified, collapsing beside the pub.

The gang fled as horrified pubgoers attempted to give Mr Woodley first aid but he never regained consciousness and died the following day.

Speaking after the verdicts, Mr Woodley’s mother, Zoey McGill, said: “The trauma of reliving this whole incident over a long trial has had a devastating effect on us all.

“We feel imprisoned by our grief and trauma. We cannot see a way of recovering from this.

“The devastation of losing Jack is immense and far-reaching.”

She said said her son had collected the keys for a new home in Sunderland the day he was attacked and was due to start a new job the following Monday.

His father, John Woodley, added: “My son went to a fair with his girlfriend to enjoy a night out and he didn’t come back.

“The pain and fear he must have endured that night is unthinkable.

“Jack had his whole life ahead of him. Those who attacked our Jack get to see their families and have a future, Jack does not.”

‘Cowardly and senseless’

Det Ch Insp Joanne Brooks of Northumbria Police said the case showed the “devastating consequences” of carrying weapons.

“Dozens of lives have been destroyed by what happened that night,” she said.

“Look at the pain this incident has caused – not only could you take away someone else’s future and destroy the lives of their loved ones, but also your own and those of your family and friends.”

Andrea Milsom, Senior Crown Prosecutor for the North East, said: “The attack on Jack last year was as cowardly as it was senseless.

“Significantly outnumbered, Jack was chased down by a group of teenagers, some armed with weapons, before being viciously and fatally assaulted in front of his friends and other members of the public.”

The youths have been remanded into custody ahead of sentencing.

The judge, His Honour Judge Rodney Jameson QC, excused the jurors further service for 20 years because of the amount of time they had spent on the case.