Two teenagers have been found not guilty of murdering 15-year-old Amen Teklay, who died in Glasgow last year after being struck by a sword. The verdict was delivered on Monday at the High Court in Glasgow.
Incident Details
Amen was found seriously injured on Clarendon Street in the Maryhill area of Glasgow on the evening of March 5 last year and died at the scene. The two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, had been on trial accused of murdering the 15-year-old in a sword attack.
Defence and Verdict
Both teenagers had denied the murder charge. The 16-year-old lodged a special defence of self-defence. The murder charge alleged that the two teenage boys, with their faces masked, assaulted Amen and brandished a frying pan and a sword or similar instrument at him on Glenfarg Street and Clarendon Street on March 5 last year. It stated that Amen was struck on the body with the sword, leaving him so severely injured that he died.
The 16-year-old accepted that he stabbed Amen, and the jury was asked to decide if he acted in self-defence or if he may have been provoked. Jurors were also asked to consider whether the second accused, aged 17, acted in concert with the first.
Legal Arguments
The defence KC for the 17-year-old accused said he believed “he had done nothing wrong”. Lawyer Iain McSporran KC said the accused boy “did not lay a finger on Amen Teklay”. The trial took place before Lord Colbeck.
