Jury retires to consider verdicts in Kennie Carter murder trial

The jury in the trial of ten young men accused of murdering Kennie Carter has retired to consider its verdicts. Kennie died after being stabbed in Stretford, Trafford, on January 22, 2022. He was allegedly murdered in 'revenge' following an 'incident' the day before.

Jabriel Ferguson, 19, of School Walk, Old Trafford; his younger brother Latif Ferguson, 18, of the same address; and Rashaun Williams, 18, from Staffordshire; have all been charged with murder and manslaughter. Seven other boys - all under 18 - have been charged with the same offences.

The jury was sent out to begin deliberating this morning following an eight week trial at Manchester Crown Court. One of the defendants, Boy A, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted stabbing Kennie but said he was acting in self-defence. He claimed that Kennie had produced a knife.

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The other defendants denied ‘supporting or encouraging’ him. Prosecutors claim that ‘the seeds of Kennie Carter’s murder were sown the night before’.

“This incident involved friends of Kennie Carter’s being in an altercation with people, the prosecution say, were associated with these defendants,” prosecutor Jaime Hamilton KC said during the trial. “That incident led to a further altercation between the two sets of friends later on that same evening. The altercation involved one of the participants producing a weapon, some sort of bat or bar."

They claim that Kennie was spotted in the street on January 22 and was said to be associated with the rival group. Jurors have heard that someone was to say to him: “Yo, you're the one that backed that pole.”

Giving evidence during the trial, Boy A admitted stabbing