Two teenage cousins have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 15-year-old Khayri McLean, who was stabbed to death as he walked home from school in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Jovani Harriott, 17, and Jakele Pusey, 15, were both handed life sentences at Leeds Crown Court, with minimum terms of 18 years and 16 years respectively.
The attack took place on 21 September last year, outside North Huddersfield Trust School. The court heard that the cousins, dressed in black and wearing balaclavas, lay in wait in an alleyway before ambushing Khayri. Pusey shouted Khayri's name and stabbed him in the heart with a 30cm blade, while Harriott, then 16, knifed him in the leg. Khayri collapsed and later died in hospital.
In a statement read to the court, Khayri's mother, Charlie Mclean, described her son as a 'loving and caring' boy who loved Manchester United and rugby, and had plans to study engineering. She said she had been 'living a nightmare' since his death and pleaded for an end to violence. 'No parent should have to contemplate this, let alone witness it,' she said.
The judge, Mrs Justice Farbey, said the cousins had seen Khayri as their 'enemy' and may have killed him in revenge for sharing a video about a broken window at Harriott's mother's house. The attack was described as 'well-planned' by prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC. Detective Superintendent Marc Bowes of West Yorkshire Police said it was 'hard to comprehend' how a low-level dispute ended in murder.
Pusey, who was part of a gang called the Fartown Boys, had admitted murder at an earlier hearing, while Harriott was convicted in March. The court heard that Pusey expressed no remorse, claiming he 'slept better' since the killing. His lawyer said he had been exploited and drawn into a life where violence was 'the norm'. Harriott's lawyer said his client showed 'genuine remorse'.
