Teens guilty of murdering boy ‘lured’ to park and fatally stabbed
Two 14-year-old boys have been found guilty of murdering a teen who was “lured” to a park and fatally stabbed.
Oliver Stephens, 13, was pronounced dead at Bugs Bottom field in Emmer Green, Reading, on 3 January.
Oliver, known as Olly, was persuaded to go to the park by a 14-year-old girl, where he was “ambushed” by the two boys, Reading Crown Court previously heard.
The court heard the boys had “grievances” with Olly and the girl is said to have described violence against him as “karma”.
The trio had messaged on Snapchat in the days before the stabbing, and the older boy had written: “I actually hate the kid with a passion – if I was to see him right now I’d probably end up killing him.”
Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC had said that Olly was “unknowingly walking into an ambush” and had been “lured” by the girl, who remained at the scene during the attack.
A witness said a number of punches had been thrown before the younger boy – who was 13 at the time – had stabbed Olly in the chest and back.
Ms Morgan said of the witness: “She could see blood coming from his chest and heard sucking sounds, which she knew was not a good sound, as air was not getting into Olly’s lungs.
Police pictured in January during the investigation into Olly’s death
“She noticed the shock was setting in and knew he was in cardiac arrest and began CPR on him.”
The court also heard the boy had “encouraged” others to look for news stories about the incident, with the older boy messaging a friend, saying: “Me and my boy slapped him up but my boy backed out and f****** shanked him.”
Ms Morgan said: “There was no sign of any regret and no suggestion he was in any way shocked.”
The younger boy had told a female friend in a message: “It was the biggest mistake of my life”, saying he had carried out the attack “out of pure anger”.
When questioned in court, the younger boy said he had taken a knife to the park because the older boy had told him to, and he had expected Olly to have a weapon.
The younger boy said that, during the fight, Olly had reached towards his waistband and he had assumed a knife would be pulled out.
The younger boy had used his knife because he thought the older boy, who was still fighting with Olly, was “going to get stabbed”.
But the older boy said he was not aware his younger friend had a knife and was shocked by the stabbing.
The jury deliberated for just over 18 hours before returning guilty verdicts to the murder charges.
The older boy and the girl had already admitted manslaughter.
Olly was killed in a park that was popular with joggers and walkers
The younger boy had also admitted perverting the course of justice by disposing of clothing worn during the murder, while the older boy admitted the same offence for deleting mobile phone applications.
None of the three can be publicly identified because of their age and they will be sentenced at a later date.
Olly’s family said after the verdict: “He left our home on that fateful afternoon with love and laughter in his heart, with the hope of a bright fun filled future ahead of him.
“Within 13 minutes of leaving the safety of his loving home Olly had left us forever.
“Two minutes was all it took to end him and cause us and our family catastrophic heartbreak.
“When I reached where Olly fell, I gently held his hand, willing him to respond, with the same love and devotion as I had on the day we met, the day he was born.
“Olly was our boy. We raised him to the best of our ability. He was a huge character in and around our home, with his friends and at school.
“He made people laugh, he could dance with the best of them, and he gave his love freely. His sense of humour and his wicked comic timing had us and his friends in stitches many a time.
“He was warm, kind, soulful, a deep thinker and a great carer to those around him. He was loyal and trusted people to a fault. He would never back down from a fight; he would defend those that couldn’t or wouldn’t defend themselves.
“I pressed on him the importance of running from a fight, to get clear and take stock of events later, we would deal with the fallout together. He did not see it my way. It cost him his life.
“The memories and stories we have of Olly’s short life have now become priceless treasures locked away in our hearts and minds forever.”
After a summer dominated by criticism over the small boats crisis and asylum hotels, Labour says it’s planning to overhaul the “broken” asylum system.
As MPs return to Westminster today, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will speak about the government’s success in tackling people smugglers and plans for border security reform.
August saw the lowest number of Channel crossings since 2019 – but the last year has the most on record. Pic: Reuters
Labour hopes that the raft of changes being proposed will contribute to ending the use of asylum hotels, an issue which has led to widespread protests over the summer.
Ms Cooper will set out planned changes to the refugee family reunion process to give “greater fairness and balance”, and speak to the government’s promise to “smash the gangs” behind English Channel crossings.
National Crime Agency (NCA) figures show record levels of disruption of immigration crime networks in 2024/25. Officials believe this contributed to the lowest number of boats crossing the Channel in August since 2019.
But, despite the 3,567 arrivals in August being the lowest since 2021, when looking across the whole of 2025, the figure of 29,003 is the highest on record for this point in a year.
Read more:
The deep divides in town which has become a flashpoint in UK’s asylum crisis
PM vows small boat migrants will be ‘detained and sent back’
Where are the UK’s asylum seekers from?
Labour says actions to strengthen border security, increase returns and overhaul the asylum system, will result in “putting much stronger foundations in place so we can fix the chaos we inherited and end costly asylum hotels”.
In a message to Reform UK, which has promised mass deportations, and the Tories, who want to revive the Rwanda scheme, Ms Cooper will say: “These are complex challenges, and they require sustainable and workable solutions, not fantasy promises which can’t be delivered.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The town at boiling point over migration
While the home secretary will look back at the UK’s “proud record of giving sanctuary to those fleeing persecution”, she will argue the system “needs to be properly controlled and managed, so the rules are respected and enforced, and so governments, not criminal gangs, decide who comes to the UK”.
She will also give further details around measures announced over the summer, including the UK’s landmark returns deal with France, and update MPs on reforms to the asylum appeals process.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp dismissed Ms Cooper’s intervention as a “desperate distraction tactic”, reiterating record levels of illegal Channel crossings, the rise in the use of asylum hotels and the highest number of asylum claims in history in Labour’s first year.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Richard Tice reveals how navy would deal with small boats
Sir Keir Starmer too, says he intends to “deliver change,” using a column in Monday’s Mirror to criticise the Tories and Reform UK for whipping up migrant hatred.
And the prime minister isn’t the only one to hit out at Reform UK’s flagship immigration plan, with the Archbishop of York accusing it of being an “isolationist, short-term kneejerk” approach, with no “long-term solutions”.
In response, Richard Tice, Reform’s deputy leader, told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips the archbishop was “wrong” in his criticism.
Anti-asylum demonstrators in Epping, Essex. Pic: PA
Mr Tice, who is the MP for Boston and Skegness, said he was a Christian who “enjoys” the church – but that the “role of the archbishop is not actually to interfere with international migration policies”.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal will hand down its full written judgment in the Bell Hotel case today, which saw Epping Forest District Council fail in an attempt to stop asylum seekers from being put up there.
Protests continued in Epping on Sunday night, with police arresting three people.
An anti-asylum demonstration also took place in Canary Wharf on Sunday, which saw a police officer punched in the face and in a separate incident, a child potentially affected by synthetic pepper spray.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment11 months agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024