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 returned by jurors at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday, their second day of deliberations.
Incident and Trial Details
Amen Teklay 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 accused, aged 16 and 17, stood trial charged with murdering the teenager in a sword attack. Both had denied the charge, with the 16-year-old lodging 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, causing injuries so severe that he died.
Defence Arguments
During the trial, the 16-year-old accepted that he stabbed Amen, and the jury was asked to decide whether he acted in self-defence or may have been provoked. Jurors were also asked to consider whether the second accused, aged 17, acted in concert with the first. In his closing speech, defence KC Iain McSporran, representing the 17-year-old, said his client believed “he had done nothing wrong” and “did not lay a finger on Amen Teklay.” McSporran stated that on the day of the incident, Amen had “gone out of his way” to find the first accused and had been armed with a weapon described as a “cutlass” or a “pirate sword.” He argued that the 17-year-old had not participated in the violence that followed.
Verdict and Aftermath
The trial took place before Lord Colbeck, who thanked the jurors for their service before discharging them after the not guilty verdict was returned.
