Teenagers and children convicted of stabbing other youngsters to death this year
There should be a “vitally important debate” about the “scourge of knife crime” among young people, a judge has said.
Bardia Shojaeifard, who was described in court as an “outwardly normal” 15-year-old boy with a “worrying interest in knives”, was detained for life on Friday with a minimum term of 13 years after being found guilty of the murder of 15-year-old Alfie Lewis in Horsforth, Leeds, last November.
Bardia Shojaeifard. Pic: West Yorkshire Police
Alfie Lewis
Shojaeifard, who was 14 at the time of the attack, stabbed Alfie through the heart on the way home from school.
The “senseless” killing is one in a long line of fatal knife attacks involving teenagers over the past year.
Knife crime in England and Wales rose by 7% in the year to December 2023 compared with the previous 12 months, according to official figures. But the total of 49,489 recorded offences remained below pre-pandemic levels.
Brianna Ghey murder
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were given life sentences in prison in February for the “sadistic” murder of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, who was transgender.
Brianna Ghey
Scarlett Jenkinson
Eddie Ratcliffe
The pair were 15 at the time of the attack. Jenkinson must serve a minimum of 22 years before parole and Ratcliffe 20 years for killing Brianna who was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back after being lured to Linear Park, Culcheth, a village near Warrington, Cheshire, in February 2023.
Renell Charles murder
A teenager who got out of a taxi and chased and stabbed 16-year-old schoolboy Renell Charles was convicted of murder in February.
Renell Charles. Pic: Met Police
The unnamed killer, who was 16 at the time of the attack in May last year, was found guilty of murdering Renell in a “brutal attack” in Walthamstow, northeast London.
Shea Gordon murder
Seventeen-year-old Shea Gordon was stabbed repeatedly in the street in September 2022 after he attended a party at a hall in Mile End, east London.
Abdul Yaro and Kavian Vaughans were convicted of his murder and jailed for life in February with a minimum term of 21 years. They were aged 19 and 18 respectively at the time of sentencing.
Dainnan Witter-Cameron and Giovanni Addae-Johnson, both 18 at the time of sentencing, were jailed for eight years for his manslaughter after being convicted following a trial last year.
Khaled Saleh killing
A 17-year-old boy was found guilty of manslaughter in February after another teenager was stabbed to death.
The youth, who cannot legally be identified, was convicted over the stabbing of 17-year-old Khaled Saleh in Paddington Green, west London, in June last year.
Gordon Gault killing
Fourteen-year-old Gordon Gault was stabbed on the arm with a machete as he rode on the back of a friend’s e-bike in Newcastle’s West End in November 2022 and died six days later in hospital.
Gordon Gault. Pic: PA
Carlos Neto. Pic: PA
Lawson Natty. Pic: PA
Six teenagers went on trial at Newcastle Crown Court and were cleared of murder, but Carlos Neto, of Salford, Greater Manchester, and Lawson Natty, of Newcastle, were convicted of manslaughter in March.
Neto was sentenced to nine years and two months while Natty, who was born in Belgium, was sentenced to 32 months, after which he could face deportation. Both killers were 18 when they were sentenced.
Rahaan Ahmed Amin murder
Police warned how “easy” it is for teenagers to buy weapons and urged parents to check purchases after a youth killed a 16-year-old boy with a “ninja-style” sword.
Rahaan Ahmed Amin. Pic: PA
The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty in May of murder following a trial at the Old Bailey, after slashing Rahaan Ahmed Amin in the chest in Newham, east London, last July in retribution for an earlier stabbing.
Mikey Roynon murder
Shane Cunningham fatally stabbed Mikey Roynon, 16, in the neck with a large knife during a house party in Bath, Somerset, in June last year.
Cunningham, 16 at the time of sentencing, was convicted of murder while his two friends, Cartel Bushnell and Leo Knight, were found guilty of Mikey’s manslaughter, after a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
Mikey Roynon. Pic: PA
(L-R): Shane Cunningham, Cartel Bushnell and Leo Knight. Pic: Avon and Somerset Police via PA
Cunningham was given a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 16 years’ detention, while Bushnell and Knight, both 16 at time of sentencing, were given nine years and nine-and-a-half years in youth detention respectively.
The judge in the trial warned of a “plague of knife crime” in Bristol.
Haidar Shah and Joshua Clark murder
A teenager who stabbed three men, killing two, after an argument over a girl in a club was jailed in June for a minimum of 28 years.
Haidar Shah. Pic: West Yorkshire Police
Joshua Clarke. Pic: West Yorkshire Police
Rashane Douglas, 19, stabbed Haidar Shah, 19, Joshua Clark, 21, and Brandon Coupe, 18, in the chest within seconds of each other following a row outside a nightclub in Halifax, West Yorkshire, last October. Mr Shah and Mr Clark died from stab wounds, while Mr Coupe survived.
Rashane Douglas. Pic: West Yorkshire Police
Douglas was jailed for life in June with a minimum term of 28 years.
Shawn Seesahai murder
Two 12-year-old boys were found guilty in June of a machete attack on 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai, who was stabbed through the heart in a Wolverhampton park.
Shawn Seesahai. Pic: West Midlands Police
The unnamed pair were thought to be the youngest defendants convicted of murder in Britain since Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both aged 11, were found guilty in 1993 of killing two-year-old James Bulger.
Victor Lee murder
Seventeen-year-old Victor Lee was stabbed twice in the back and once in the chest on the towpath of the Grand Union Canal, near Wormwood Scrubs Park, in June last year.
Victor Lee. Pic: Met Police
This June, Elijah Gokool-Mely, 18, was convicted of murdering Victor before pushing him into a west London canal.
Charlie Cosser murder
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Cosser was stabbed three times in the chest in a marquee at a private party attended by more than 100 people in Warnham, West Sussex, last July.
Charlie Cosser. Pic: Sussex Police/PA
Yura Varybrus. Pic: Family handout/Sussex Police/PA
His killer Yura Varybrus, who was 16 at the time, was found guilty in June of murder and having a bladed article.
All flights were halted at Edinburgh Airport this morning due to an IT issue affecting its air traffic control provider.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the airport later announced service had resumed.
Its post read: “Flights have now resumed following the IT issue with our air traffic provider.
“We thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”
But passengers continue to feel the effects.
A Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Edinburgh was diverted to Dublin after going into a holding pattern over the Scottish capital.
And a live arrivals board on the airport’s website showed multiple flights diverted, delayed and cancelled.
Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport
Morven McCall and Cody Stevenson, both 19, were due to fly easyJet from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on their first trip away together.
Morven told Sky News: “We literally just got into the airport and as soon as we walked through the door there was an announcement that it had been cancelled.
“I was ill over the summer and had to cancel two holidays already, this was our first time going away together. We are just gutted and stressed.”
Follow live: Latest updates as flights halted
Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA
One passenger was on a plane when they found out.
They said: “We boarded our flight and pushed back on time for an 8.45 (am) departure, then sat for a while before the pilot told us what was happening.
“He updated us a couple of times, cabin crew are brilliant at handing out water etc, and I’m surprised that everyone appears to be upbeat. But then you do wonder how long for, just been told we’re hoping to be in the air in 20 minutes.”
Another passenger told us: “The first news was from the airport announcement as we were halfway through boarding, saying the airfield was closed due to air traffic control down.
“No one knew what was going on. We’d already been delayed a bit before boarding, with no reason. I suspect problems started about 9am.”
It comes after an earlier announcement that all flights had been halted.
“No flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport,” the previous statement said.
“Teams are working on the issue and will resolve as soon as possible.”
There was no timeframe for recovery initially, Sky News learned.
It’s understood by PA that the issue was not linked to today’s Cloudflare outage.
Edinburgh Trams also posted on X, writing: “If you’re travelling with us to @EDI_Airport this morning, please be aware that flights are not currently operating.”
The airport urged passengers to contact their airline for the latest information on flights.
An average of 43,000 passengers per day use the airport, which is served by 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations.
A former doctor has been charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients in his care.
Nathaniel Spencer, 38, has been charged with 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assault a child under 13 by penetration and one count of attempted assault by penetration.
It follows a police investigation into alleged sexual offences between 2017 and 2021.
Staffordshire Police said in a statement the charges come after a complex investigation by the Public Protection Unit into sexual offences at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Russells Hall Hospital, in Dudley.
North Staffordshire Justice Centre
Ben Samples, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Nathaniel Spencer for a number of serious sexual offences allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor – including assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child.
“Our prosecutors have worked at length to support a detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police, carefully reviewing the available evidence to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
Spencer, from Birmingham, will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 20 January 2026.
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