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Title Murder accused tells Stefan trial he ‘lashed out in self-defence’ during confrontation over stolen bike Author Material Article External document A teenager has admitted stabbing college student Stefan Appleton in a Canonbury park last year but claims he did so in self-defence, a jury at the Old Bailey has heard.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court on Friday he was under attack by youths armed with knives and a piece of wood when he “lashed out once” at Stefan with a knife, before fleeing from the scene in Nightingale Park on June 10. Marquess estate resident Stefan, 17, died hours later as a result of a chest wound.
Defence barrister Sallie Bennett-Jenkins QC asked the defendant: “The prosecution alleges that you deliberately and unlawfully stabbed and killed Stefan Appleton. Did you?”
“No”, the defendant replied, adding: “He [Stefan] was trying to stab me. I saw him try to grab his knife and I thought he was going to stab me so I lashed out once.”
The teenager denies murder and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm. He is in the dock alongside another 17-year-old boy charged with the same offences and a 16-year-old boy charged only with the lesser offence.
The events that led to the stabbing, the defendant told the court, started six days earlier when he was robbed of his mountain bike by a knife-wielding youth in Holloway while on his way to college. He said he later established the identity of the robber – who cannot be named for legal reasons – after friends showed him images on social media.
Knowing the robber had friends in the Canonbury area, the defendant told the jury that on June 10 he travelled to Nightingale Park with his 17-year-old co-defendant on a stolen moped to look for his bike.
Asked why he brought a knife with him, he said: “[Co-defendant] asked me: ‘How are you going to get [the bike] back?’ It came to mind that I needed a knife to get my bike because I wanted to pull it out to scare them.”
The prosecution alleges that when the two reached the park, the teenager jumped off the moped, pulled out a knife, ran towards Stefan and his friends. As Stefan tried to run away he tripped over a low fence, and lay helplessly on the ground as the defendant stabbed him repeatedly, the court has heard. But this version of events was contested by the defendant.
He said that he saw youths with bikes, one of which was similar to his, in an alley between Nightingale Road and the park.
“One boy called out ‘Who’s that?’ towards me in an aggressive kind of way. All the others came with him. I turned around to face them and I said: “Where’s [alleged bike robber]? After that the boys pulled out a knife and were trying to stab me. I started panicking and I pulled the knife out of the sheath.” He added: “I was scared and I moved back to avoid being stabbed. After I looked back and I saw Stefan draw his knife and I thought I was going to die and I started running.
“He [Stefan] was trying to get his knife out… He tripped and I tripped over him… As soon as I tripped I saw him try to grab his knife and I thought he was going to stab me so I lashed out once.”
The defendant admitted that afterwards the two 17-year-olds left the moped in a quiet road, burnt clothes they had been wearing and left a helmet with a friend. The pair fled to Bristol and tried in vain to book flights to Malaga. They returned to London two days later.
Each was arrested within days at different addresses.
All three defendants deny conspiring to cause grievous bodily harm with intent. The two 17-year-olds deny murder. The trial continues. Notes Islington Tribune filed at A-Z periodicals (Islington Local History Centre) Audio
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