A teenager has been found guilty of manslaughter after stabbing his school friend to death in an east London park.
A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of the manslaughter of 15-year-old Pharell Garica following a trial at the Old Bailey that concluded on Friday, 7 February.
He was found not guilty of murder. The jury reached the verdict after deliberating for 15 hours and 39 minutes.
The court heard that the defendant, who was aged 15 at the time, stabbed Pharell in the heart, chased him until he collapsed, then fled without helping him and disposed of the weapon.
The defendant admitted stabbing Pharell but claimed it was in self-defence. However, the jury disagreed with this account.
Detective Chief Inspector Kelly Allen from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, who led the investigation, said, “Our investigation revealed that the defendant had a fascination with knives after we found 43 images and videos from 16 and 17 July alone of him playing with knives.”
Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, who leads policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said, “Pharell’s death was first and foremost a devastating tragedy for his family and friends, but it also had considerable impact across our local communities.”
Police were called at around 4.05 p.m. on Tuesday, 23 July, to Stellman Close, E5, to reports of a stabbing.
Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended, but sadly, Pharell was pronounced dead at the scene.
The court heard that Pharell and the defendant, who used to be friends before a falling out, met in the park shortly before the attack. The defendant had told a mutual friend that he was going to fight Pharell as he was talking about him.
Following Pharell’s death, the police received some information, which led them to make an arrest enquiry at the defendant’s address. He was not home.
Detectives soon tracked him down to a family friend’s house, where he stayed following the manslaughter, and he was arrested at 05:07hrs on Wednesday, 24 July.
Detectives then began their lengthy investigation of gathering evidence to prove the defendant was responsible for killing Pharell.
They reviewed hours of CCTV that captured the defendant entering the park before putting his hood up, walking to the area where the attack happened with Pharell, chasing Pharell out of the park while still holding the knife and then finally disposing of the weapon.
The weapon was recovered close to where the defendant was seen discarding it on CCTV. The multi-tool was forensically linked to both the defendant and Pharell.
Officers also analysed the defendant’s mobile phone, which showed communication on Snapchat between the pair in the days leading up to the manslaughter, as well as 43 videos and photos of the defendant playing with knives only a week before the killing on Tuesday, 16 and Wednesday, 17 July.
The defendant also messaged his mother following the attack, saying he could not come home to remove certain items from their home and asking to go to Portugal.
The defendant gave a prepared statement to officers admitting to stabbing Pharell but saying he did it in self-defence after getting the knife off him – something detectives and the jury disputed.
He was charged on Thursday, 25 July and was convicted as above. He will be sentenced at the same court on Thursday, 17 April.
