Jurors at the High Court in Glasgow have heard that a 16-year-old boy on trial for the murder of 15-year-old Amen Teklay allegedly confessed to stabbing him through the heart. The teenager, along with a 17-year-old co-accused, is accused of assaulting Amen in the St George's Cross area of Glasgow on March 5, 2025. The boys cannot be named due to their age.
Prosecution claims sword and frying pan used in attack
Prosecutors allege that the pair, both masked, brandished a sword and a frying pan during the assault. Amen, who lived in Glasgow with his father but was originally from Eritrea, was chased and struck with the sword, leaving him so severely injured that he died in Clarendon Street. The 16-year-old has lodged a special defence of self-defence.
On Wednesday, jurors watched further footage from a police interview given by a third youth, also 16, who was initially arrested for the murder but later released. The court previously heard that the third youth played football with the two accused at the Firhill Complex in Maryhill on the night of Amen's death but went home.
Third youth recounts confession
The third youth told officers that he received a phone call from another boy later that night, who said that the 16-year-old on trial had stabbed Amen. The witness then spoke to the accused at school. He told officers: 'I asked him and he told me. He confessed to it.'
When asked by Detective Constable Michelle McLeod, 35, what the accused had said, the witness replied: 'He said he got stabbed in the chest out of his back. When he took it out, all the blood went on his face and his eyelashes.' The officer asked how he felt hearing this, and the youth answered: 'I was shocked, I was sad, I knew what the consequences would be with him doing that.'
The third youth's recorded court evidence was then played. He stated that the 16-year-old accused knew Amen was in the area before the death. Amen had allegedly asked another youth where the accused and the witness were. However, when prosecutor Adrian Stalker asked about the confession, the witness said he could not remember.
Messages and prior incidents revealed
A string of messages sent between the witness, the accused, and other youths around the time of the incident were read to the jury. Two days before the alleged murder, the 16-year-old is said to have mentioned that Amen had a 'big shank nearly as big as mine'. The court heard that 'shank' meant knife. There was further discussion that the group 'ain't fighting small shanks' in relation to Amen.
Under cross-examination by Brian McConnachie KC, defending the 16-year-old, the witness described his first meeting with Amen. He said Amen stole drugs from him and the accused, which they were selling at Kelvinhall subway station. Jurors had previously watched footage of Amen being attacked in February 2025, which is alleged to have involved the accused and the witness. The witness claimed that the next day, a person wearing clothing similar to Amen's tried to attack him with a weapon as he walked to school.
Jurors also watched later footage of youths with weapons outside the Lismore bar in Partick, which is said to have involved Amen and the accused. Mr McConnachie asked if Amen had the same weapon as the person outside the school, and the witness replied: 'Yes.'
The trial continues before Judge Lord Colbeck.
