A teenager has been found guilty of killing Dea-John Reid, 14, who was stabbed to death in Birmingham.
Dea-John was chased down and stabbed in a revenge attack after a group of friends he was with tried to steal a bag from a friend of the killer an hour earlier.
The killer, who armed himself with a knife and was driven around the Kingstanding area , tracked Dea-John down and stabbed him once in the chest on College Road on the evening of 31 May last year.
He died at the scene.
While the killer was being driven around the area, a racial slur was shouted at Dea-John’s group from the car.
The killing was treated as racially aggravated and happened in retribution for the earlier robbery attempt.
CCTV was recovered and five people were arrested and charged with murder. A sixth person was accused of assisting an offender.
Today at Birmingham Crown Court, two boys and two men were found not guilty of murder.
The sixth person was found not guilty of assisting an offender, following the month-long trial.
The teenager convicted of manslaughter will be sentenced on May 5.
Det Supt Shaun Edwards, head of our Homicide department, said: “Dea-John’s death was senseless and tragic. We recognize the impact the untimely death of a young person has on their loved ones and the wider community.
“We understand the sense of community feeling around Dea-John’s killing.
“The violence and hatred in this tragic case were completely unacceptable and have irreversibly damaged the lives of many people.
“Collectively, we can and must do more – particularly with our younger people – to stop this devastation within in communities.
“We gathered 3,100 hours of CCTV to build a really strong case against Dea-John’s killer, and I’d also like to thank all the witnesses who came forward to tell us what they’d seen.
“I’d also like to thank the people who stopped at the scene to give first aid to Dea-John.
“Our thoughts remain with Dea-John’s family.”
Following the verdict Dea-John’s family said: “Dea-John was a well-loved son and brother. We will not let what happened to him define what he meant to us.”