Two men have been found guilty of murder after a 16-year-old boy was chased through the street and stabbed to death in broad daylight in Moss Side. Giovanni Lawrence and Shikeo Bell were convicted at Manchester Crown Court on June 30, 2026, following a re-trial ordered by the Court of Appeal.
Details of the Attack
Rhamero West was fatally knifed on September 9, 2021, during a rush-hour car chase. He was driving a stolen BMW with friends when he was spotted on Princess Road at about 6pm. Two other stolen BMWs pursued him. Marquis Richards got out of one car and attacked Rhamero's vehicle with a large knife while it was stationary in traffic.
Rhamero forced his car out of traffic and sped away, but later crashed into a tree on Upper Chorlton Road. He and his friends fled on foot towards Darnley Street. Prosecutor Guy Gozem KC said the boys were 'running in fear for their lives'. Richards chased them with a knife, joined by Bell. Ryan Cashin then took the knife from Richards and stabbed Rhamero on Norton Street. Rhamero was pronounced dead at 7.36pm.
Convictions and Sentencing
Ryan Cashin was found guilty of murder in a 2022 trial and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 23 years and 142 days. Marquis Richards also received a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years and 113 days. Lawrence appealed his conviction, leading to a re-trial where he and Bell were found guilty. They will be sentenced later this week.
Prosecutors stated that DNA evidence placed Lawrence and Bell in one of the pursuing BMWs. Gozem KC noted: 'Whatever motive lay behind their relentless pursuit of Rhamero West, the defendants’ absolute determination to catch him is self-evident... Although ultimately the fatal blows were delivered by Ryan Cashin, these two defendants clearly played their part in the continuing pursuit of and attack on Rhamero West that day.'
Background
Rhamero West was the nephew of former Manchester City and England international Shaun Wright-Phillips. A motive for the killing has never been put forward by prosecutors. Lawrence, 24, of Colgrove Avenue, Manchester, and Bell, 22, of no fixed address but from Moss Side, were both convicted of murder.
