Two teens jailed for life for the murder of Nathaniel Shani
19.06.2024 - 18:29
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Two teenage boys have been jailed for life for the murder of 14-year-old Nathaniel Shani.
Nathaniel Shani sadly died after being stabbed to the neck in an alleyway in Harpurhey on September 15 2023. Two boys, Boy A, aged 15, and Boy B, aged 14, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were both found guilty of his murder following a trial at Manchester Crown Court earlier this year.
The court heard that Nathaniel died following a row over cannabis being stolen. Nathaniel and Boy A had met in an alleyway off Tavistock Square as part of a ‘fight to settle differences’, the court heard.
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There had been a ‘fall out’ between Boy A and Nathaniel who had previously ‘engaged in physical fights’.
On the day of the killing, cannabis had been stolen from a friend of Nathaniel’s by Boy B. “Nathaniel viewed this as a loss of face to him and his group,” prosecutor Jason Pitter KC said.
An arrangement was made to meet to ‘sort things’, the court was told. "For Nathaniel this, the prosecution say, entailed a one v one fight with Boy A," the prosecutor said.
Nathaniel arrived in the square at about 6pm and met with Boy A and Boy B. During the ensuing confrontation Nathaniel punched Boy A, who produced a knife and stabbed him to the neck.
Nathaniel was seen clutching his neck after being knifed, before collapsing in the square. He was pronounced dead at 7.08pm.
At trial, Boy A admitted stabbing Nathaniel and said he regretted doing so, but he denied murder. He claimed that Nathaniel was acting 'aggressively' and that he had threatened to stab him, and so was 'acting in self defence'.
Boy A said he had armed himself for 'protection'. Boy B admitted