UK
Teenager jailed for stabbing two men to death after row over woman outside Halifax nightclub
A 19-year-old man has been jailed for 28 years for murdering two men outside a Halifax nightclub.
Rashane Douglas, from Huddersfield, stabbed Joshua Clark, 21, and Haidar Shah, 19, outside Maggie’s on Commercial Street on 1 October last year.
Douglas also stabbed Brandon Coupe, 18, in the attack, which happened after an earlier row over a woman.
He was found not guilty of the attempted murder of Mr Coupe, but was found guilty of wounding with intent and sentenced to six years.
Douglas was also given 18 months for possession of a knife with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The sentences will run concurrently.
Judge Rose said in court: “This case is an illustration of the tragic consequences which can follow when a young man carries a knife in public.
“If you carry a knife, you are more likely to draw it; if you draw it, you are more likely to use it; if you use it, you are more likely to cause injury or death.”
Pic: West Yorkshire Police
During his trial, the court heard how Douglas stabbed the three men within seconds of each other.
The prosecution said the 19-year-old was angry that a woman he had been expecting to meet at the nightclub was already with Mr Shah.
Douglas was alleged to have confronted the victims, and a fight broke out after the woman had gone home.
In a statement via West Yorkshire Police, Haidar’s mother Marium Shah said her son “was the most beautiful person inside and out”.
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The teenager’s older brother Shahzerb Shah added: “Witnessing someone take their last breath with whom you share the same blood with, grew up with and shared happy memories with, affects you more than people understand.
“For someone, who doesn’t deserve to be named, to be so cowardly to use a knife, then to try to justify it and then cover it up and believe he is blameless just doesn’t resonate with me.
“I look at the pain in my mother’s eyes. I see the impact Haidar’s death has had on her, my sister, my brothers and my niece.”
Haidar Shah. Pic: West Yorkshire Police
Joshua Clarke. Pic: West Yorkshire Police
Rachel Clarke, Joshua’s mother, also said: “Josh was not just my son; he was also my best friend. We would laugh and joke together, with his quick-witted and clever sense of humour, life was so much fun with Josh in it.
“Now my life just feels so empty and dark. My new normal is trying to navigate my way through life without Josh in it now that his life has been cruelly and needlessly ripped away from him by the actions of a brutal killer.
“The cruel actions of one individual didn’t just take away my beloved son, but also shattered my sense of self. I have lost my identity as a mother.”