Evil teen killers named after boy, 17, brutally murdered in the street
03.10.2023 - 12:29
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
Two teen killers have been named for the first time after a 17-year-old boy was brutally murdered in the street. Tafari Smith, then 16, stabbed Kyle Hackland before other teenagers joined in with the evil attack.
Kyle’s killers were looking for revenge after a drug deal went wrong the day before the callous stabbing Manchester Crown Court heard.
But the tragic teen had nothing to do with the incident and was walking alongside his friend on Southlea Road in Withington, at around 11.30am on November 22 last year, when the attackers saw Kyle and attacked him.
Smith, now 17, was previously found guilty of murder can now be named for the first time after the Manchester Evening News successfully applied to a judge for the anonymity afforded to juvenile offenders to be lifted.
Yousef Sesay and Lewis Ludford, both 18, were also convicted of murder. Alfie Benson, 17, can also be named for the first time.
Benson was not involved in the attack, but was the driver of a stolen VW Golf which ferried the killers to and from the scene. He was found guilty of manslaughter. The four teens were sentenced this morning.
Smith, Sesay and Ludford were all detained at His Majesty’s pleasure, the equivalent of a life sentence for juveniles. Smith will serve a minimum of 19 years. Sesay and Ludford will serve minimum terms of 22 and 21 years respectively. Benson was sentenced to 12 years.
Sentencing, Judge Alan Conrad KC said Kyle's life was 'so cruelly and unnecessarily cut short'. He said of Kyle: "He had done nothing at all to deserve what happened to him."
The murder of 'kind and well-mannered' Kyle was caught on harrowing CCTV footage, which provided prosecutors with crucial evidence. Prosecutors told how the murder was fuelled by revenge.
Kyle