Dad collapses in court as teen is cleared of stabbing son, 17, to death

The father of a teenager stabbed to death collapsed in court today after two boys were cleared of killing him.

Yousef Makki, 17, died in hospital in March this year after he was knifed in the chest during an argument in Hale Barns.

Two boys, both also aged 17 but not named due to legal reasons, were on trial facing several charges in connection with his death.

Boy One was cleared of murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter, having previously pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and possessing a flick knife.

Boy Two was also found not guilty of conspiracy to rob and perverting the course of justice, but also admitted possessing a flick knife.

Prosecutors had alleged that Boy One had stabbed his former friend in the chest in a ‘fit of rage’ during a row about a cannabis deal that went wrong.

But Boy One claimed he acted in self defence after Yousef, a Manchester Grammar School pupil, pulled a knife on him during a scuffle.

The court heard Yousef, who had dreamed of being a heart surgeon, had sent a clip of a hand playing with a flick knife to Boy Two’s phone on Snapchat, just days before he died.

Screengrabs of the pair’s earlier rows were in September 2018 were shown to the jury.

Yousef had told his friend: ‘Ur getting stabbed when I see u. Swear down. I’m gonna kill u. U p***y.’

As the foreman delivered the jury’s verdicts, Yousef’s dad Ghaleb rose to his feet in the upstairs gallery of Manchester Crown Court.

He repeatedly yelled out: ‘F*** you you b******’ before being led away.

The court also heard him shout ‘where is the justice for my son’ as the two families of the accused cried.

Paramedics were then called to the scene after the grief-stricken dad collapsed in the public gallery, while other members of Yousef’s family were left in tears.

Boy One was hugged by his mother seated in the downstairs public gallery as he was released from the dock whilst Boy Two sat in the public gallery texting on his phone.

Mr Justice Bryan will pass sentence for the charges the two boys admitted to on July 25.

Both the accused had been granted conditional bail during the trial and were bailed on the same conditions as before.

After the hearing the family of Boy One released a statement, saying: ‘Obviously we welcome the verdicts. The jury came to a proper conclusion on the evidence.

‘There are, however, no winners in this case. Yousef’s death was a tragedy and our son will have to live with his responsibility of his role for the rest of his life.

‘But the Makki family’s hurt and loss are infinitely greater. Nothing we can say can make up for that or change it.’