Khayri Mclean: Teenagers jailed for life after murdering 15-year-old in Huddersfield

Two teenagers have been jailed for life for the murder of 15-year-old Khayri Mclean.

Jovani Harriott, 17, will serve a minimum of 18 years, while 15-year-old Jakele Pusey will serve a minimum of 16 years.

The pair can now be named after an anonymity order was lifted following their sentencing.

Khayri was stabbed while making his way home from North Huddersfield Trust School in the West Yorkshire town on 21 September last year.

Harriott, who was 16 at the time, was accused of being one of two teenagers who attacked Khayri after lying in wait for him wearing balaclavas and carrying knives.

He was found guilty of the murder in March.

The court heard how Khayri left the school on Woodhouse Hall Road with his friends.

He was met by Harriott and Pusey, who “charged” towards him aggressively.

Pusey, who had already pleaded guilty to murder, stabbed Khayri in the chest with a 30cm blade.

It proved to be a fatal blow as it went through Khayri’s ribs and penetrated one of his lungs and heart.

Khayri fell to the floor and was “defenceless on his back” when the 17-year-old assailant, who denied murder, stabbed him in his lower leg.

The older boy was tried because prosecutors said that, although he did not inflict the fatal blow, he acted with his co-accused and they “encouraged and supported each other to carry out the attack”.

Mrs Justice Farbey, the judge, was told how the 15-year-old defendant admitted he had a history of gang-related criminality and was shot by masked men when he was 12.

She was also told he was involved in a Huddersfield gang called F-Block, or Fartown Boys, whose activities have been celebrated in drill music, and that he dealt class B drugs when he was around 13, and class A drugs at 14.

A pre-sentence report concluded that “violence against opposing gang members was the norm for (him) – the life he lived”.

In a victim personal statement read to the court, Khayri’s mother Charlie Mclean said: “I ask myself what has this achieved?

“What has my son died for? Nobody has won in this situation.

“I’ve lost a child and other parents have lost two sons who have committed this offence.

“This violence has to stop, carrying weapons has to stop.

“I have lost my son and I would not wish this on anyone else. “

She added the attackers were “cowards”, saying: “He was not given an opportunity to run or defend himself, he was helpless.

“The fear he went through when he realised he had been stabbed and was bleeding to death will stay with me forever.”

Ms Mclean has also revealed that she ran to the roadside after her son was attacked and watched “helplessly” as paramedics tried to save his life.

She added in a statement read out by police outside court: “No parent should have to see that.”

Detective Superintendent Marc Bowes, who led the investigation, said in a statement: “If ever a case has highlighted the dreadful consequences of knife crime and the culture of carrying such weapons, the appalling attack on Khayri outside his school was a crime that demonstrated that tragedy and rightly shocked people across the country.”

He added: “The murder of Khayri was a planned, organised and targeted attack. The severity of the injuries they inflicted left Khayri with no chance of survival and left those closest to him without a much-loved son and friend and we can see to this day the impact his loss has had and continues to have on them.”

Dan Lee, senior crown prosecutor in the CPS Yorkshire and Humberside Complex Casework Unit, said: “Khayri Mclean had his whole life ahead of him. His murder has had a devastating impact on his family and friends who now face a future without him.”

He added: “Today these teenagers have been jailed and start lengthy prison sentences. Many lives have been ruined on all sides.”