A 16-year-old boy has been cleared of murder and manslaughter following the fatal stabbing of a teenager in Chippenham.
Shayne Hambakachere, also 16, suffered a fatal stab wound during a pre-planned confrontation in an alleyway on 31 January this year.
The defendant, who cannot legally be named because of his age, denied murdering Shayne and has now been found not guilty following a nine-day trial at Bristol Crown Court.
Jurors heard that there had been a dispute between the two teenagers before the fatal confrontation.
ITV News reported that the defendant believed Shayne had links to a Bristol-based drugs gang which had previously threatened him with knives.
The boy told the court he was frightened of the group and had not contacted police because he feared repercussions.
Jurors were shown footage recorded by the defendant during his encounter with Shayne.
The court heard that Shayne arrived alone and unarmed before a confrontation involving a knife being carried by the defendant.
During the encounter, Shayne suffered a stab wound to the chest before running towards a nearby road and collapsing.
The defendant later disposed of the knife at a disused care home before returning home, the ITV News stated.
Giving evidence during the trial, the boy maintained that he had not intended to kill Shayne.
He told the court: “My intention wasn’t to kill him. My intention was to scare Shayne away from the alley. As I recorded, Shayne had his hand in his pocket.
“He walked closer to me, and I felt he was about to attack me with something in his pocket. I thought Shayne was about to stab me”.
The defendant also told jurors he had seen photographs of Shayne with weapons on Snapchat and believed the teenager could be armed during their confrontation.
The trial began at Bristol Crown Court on Monday 10 August and lasted nine days. The jury found the 16-year-old not guilty of both murder and manslaughter.
