Two Schoolboys Stabbed 13-Year-Old Boy To Death After Luring Him Using Teen Girl

Two 14-year-old boys who stabbed a 13-year-old boy to death after a dispute on social media have been found guilty of his murder.

Oliver Stephens, known as Olly, was stabbed in the chest and back when he was attacked by the two schoolboys in the Bugs Bottom field in Reading, Berkshire, on January 3.

Stephens was "lured" there by a 13-year-old girl, the Reading crown court heard.

The girl admitted manslaughter and will be sentenced on a later date with the two boys, who had previously admitted manslaughter. The suspects cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The teen boys had developed a grudge towards Olly because they believed he "grassed" on them to the brother of a boy they had mocked in a social media group chat, the trial heard.

Voice notes and text messages exchanged between the suspects, in which they talked about taking revenge, were presented to the jury.

"He's actually getting banged when I see him," one message said.

Another added: "I actually hate the kid with a passion, like if I was to see him right now I'll probably end up killing him or something."

The girl said in one message: "Karma – he [Olly] deserves all of this."

The boys had recruited the girl to lure Olly to the field near his home in Emmer Green, as part of a "set-up", the jury was told.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC told the court that Olly was "unknowingly walking into an ambush".

"[The girl] lured Olly to the location of the attack, in a place called Bugs Bottom, and she lured him to allow the attack to be carried out by the two defendants," Morgan said.

"The defendants were motivated by perceived grievances with Olly," she added.

"This was an ambush on him. A planned attack that was designed to put him in a vulnerable position," she said.

Olly was stabbed on his back and chest, the jury heard.

An off-duty nurse walking her dog spotted the severely injured teenager lying in a pool of blood. She performed life-saving measures, but Olly was pronounced dead at the scene.

The boys admitted to perverting the course of justice by disposing of evidence, while one disposed of clothing worn at the time of the killing, the other deleted mobile phone applications. court heard.

"Today is a sad day. So many young lives and the lives of their families have been devastated by this callous and cold-hearted act. Knife crime needs to stop. Now," after the verdict, Olly’s family said in a statement.

"Our boy Olly was born to us at 21.21 on the 1/11/2007, he was taken officially from us at 5 pm on 3/01/2021. He left our home on that fateful afternoon with love and laughter in his heart, with the hope of a bright, fun-filled future ahead of him."

"Within 13 minutes of leaving the safety of his loving home, Olly had left us forever. Two minutes was all it took to end him and cause us and our family catastrophic heartbreak."