LEEDS, United Kingdom – Three men have been convicted of murdering a teenage boy who was fatally stabbed at a party in Leeds.
Trust Gangata, 17, died after the attack at a house in Salisbury Road, Armley, in the early hours of 19 March.
A trial at Leeds Crown Court heard his killing was a case of mistaken identity, with the teenager not the intended target.
But on Thursday, a jury unanimously found Karl Belinga, Karlson Ogie and Paul Mbwasse, all 19, guilty of murder.
Brandon Paradzai, 20, was cleared of the 17-year-old’s murder, but was found guilty of manslaughter.
A witness told police that Trust was slashed with a “Rambo-style” knife and two “large” blades, the jury previously heard.
The attackers were seeking revenge for an earlier assault on Belinga which Trust was not involved in, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
Belinga left the party after the assault, prosecutors said, but all four later returned in a car and were wearing face coverings.
A female witness reported being in the kitchen with about 15 others when “three males burst in” and attacked Trust, the trial heard.
Shortly before 03:00, 999 calls were made from the property and Trust was taken by ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary.
He could not be resuscitated and was declared dead at 03:31, the trial previously heard.
The jury heard a Home Office pathologist believed Trust had received at least 14 separate blows with a knife.
Belinga, of Brendon Walk, Bradford, Mbwasse, of Walpole Road, Huddersfield, Ogie, of Bierley House Avenue, Bradford, and Paradzai, of Coleshill Way, Bradford, are due to be sentenced at the same court on 18 December.
Senior crown prosecutor Ben Moore, of CPS Yorkshire & Humberside, said: “Trust Gangata’s life was callously cut short by these defendants in a case of mistaken identity.
“Their attack was premediated – they returned to the address armed with knives intent on revenge for an incident their victim had nothing to do with.”
He added: “The Gangata family have conducted themselves with dignity throughout these proceedings and our thoughts and deepest condolences remain with them.”
Source: ZimLive
