A 17-year-old boy told his friend he would 'happily do 20 to life' before stabbing and slashing him during a horrific seven-hour ordeal. Kai Ashcroft, now 18, also whipped his victim with a belt and forced him to take hallucinogenic drugs as he held him hostage, threatening to 'cut him up'.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Ashcroft and Harry Bradshaw had been friends between the ages of four and ten before reconnecting via Instagram in late 2025. On December 27 last year, they were at Ashcroft's home in Litherland, Merseyside, taking cocaine when the atmosphere shifted. Ashcroft became paranoid, accusing Bradshaw of ruining his life over an incident from a decade earlier that Bradshaw did not recall.
Ashcroft punched and kicked Bradshaw before arming himself with a kitchen knife. He demanded an admission and stated: 'I'd happily do 20 years to life for a scruffy c*** like you. I have nothing left.' He then recorded Bradshaw, demanded £200, and repeatedly poked and slashed him, causing cuts to his legs. During his arrest, Ashcroft told police he planned to 'hunt him down' and 'execute' him in a manner 'bloody as f***'.
Ashcroft admitted wounding with intent and false imprisonment. Judge Katherine Pierpoint, sentencing him to three years in a young offenders' institute with a lifelong restraining order, noted his difficult upbringing, autism and ADHD diagnoses, and recent bereavement of his 10-year-old cousin. She remarked on his remorse and engagement with mental health services while on remand.
