Two teenagers have been found not guilty of the murder of 15-year-old Amen Teklay in Glasgow. The male youths, aged 16 and 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were acquitted following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. It was alleged the teenagers, with their faces masked, assaulted Amen and brandished a frying pan and a sword or similar instrument at him at Glenfarg Street and Clarendon Street in Maryhill. The pair were alleged to have chased him and struck him on the body with the sword, leaving him so severely injured that he died in the St George’s Cross area of the city.
Self-Defence Claim in Teen Murder Trial
The 16-year-old had accepted he stabbed Amen and the jury was asked to decide if he acted in self-defence or if he may have been provoked, while the 17-year-old denied being involved in the killing. Lawyer Iain McSporran KC said the accused boy “did not lay a finger on Amen Teklay”.
Man Dies After Stabbing at Banana Flats
A man has died in hospital after a stabbing at Banana Flats in Edinburgh. Another man has been arrested by police after forensic officers were spotted at the scene in Leith. Emergency crews, including Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service, rushed to reports of a disturbance outside Cables Wynd House in the capital at around 9.45pm Sunday, July 5. Upon attendance, a man was discovered with serious injuries. He was raced to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where he died a short time later. It's understood the disturbance was a stabbing. Investigators have since arrested a 33-year-old man as enquiries into the incident continue.
Woman Denies Baby Attack After Jail Release
A woman who left a four-week-old baby brain damaged and blind has launched an online foul-mouthed rant insisting she 'never did it' upon her jail release. Caroline Thomson, who admitted assaulting the tiny infant to his permanent impairment, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of his life, has made chilling posts on Facebook denying the crime after being recently set free. The Falkirk woman was caged for nine years in February 2020 after a High Court judge branded her offending “an appalling crime”. However, her sentence was later cut to six years just months later by appeal judges, who ruled the original punishment was excessive compared with similar cases. The baby boy suffered horrific injuries including fractured ribs and toes, a broken wrist, a detached retina and bleeding on his brain after being assaulted over a six-week period in 2018. The attack left him brain damaged and blind in one eye.
Woman Transferred Embezzled Cash to Family
A woman dodged jail after embezzling almost £150k from an energy utility company and a family firm. Margaret Jacovelli, 48, stole the money from a branch of Together Energy and Hayward Contracts Ltd between January and July 2022. She appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court for sentencing and was placed under supervision for two years after pleading guilty to two charges of embezzlement. The Kilwinning woman was also ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work and made subject of a restriction of liberty order for a period of six months. She used her position as a finance administrator to direct funds into the bank accounts of family members before the money was then deposited into her own accounts.
Kingpin 'Called In to Sort Debt'
A man once dubbed Britain's Pablo Escobar has revealed how Glasgow crime boss Jamie Daniel was called in to sort out a £200,000 drugs debt owed to a firm of ruthless London criminals. Over a period of almost 30 years Londoner Andrew 'The Joker' Pritchard smuggled millions of pounds' worth of drugs including cocaine and hash into the UK hidden inside everything from coconuts and coffins, to crates of fruit and vegetables. Pritchard went straight after his release from prison and has brought out a book about his life of crime titled 'Empire of Dirt.' He also helps ex cons and kids stay out of trouble through his charity the AP Foundation.
