Rewards, desperate appeals and despair - how Kennie Carter's family fought for justice after going through 'hell'

It was a cold, January evening when a family was ripped apart. As tens of thousands of Manchester United fans swarmed out of Old Trafford following a Premier League game, just a short distance away, a young life was cruelly cut short.

Kennie Carter was just 16 when he was murdered, on a Saturday night in Stretford. Stabbed once to the heart, he stood no chance.

Cut down at such a tender age, over a petty feud which he found himself at the centre of. Consumed by grief, Kennie’s family looked for answers.

READ MORE: Teen found GUILTY of murder after Kennie Carter stabbed in 'revenge' attack

Heartbreaking appeals and cash rewards were offered, as month after month they clung onto the hope that Kennie’s killer would be caught. About 21 months after Kennie’s death, news emerged that enough evidence had been gathered by police to bring charges.

And now, weeks away from what would have been Kennie’s 18th birthday, four young men have been convicted for their part in his death. It has been a long road for Kennie’s parents, Glen Carter and Joan Dixon, who steadfastly campaigned for justice to be done in their son’s name.

A ‘fun’, ‘cheeky chappy’ who was the youngest of four children, who became yet another young victim of knife crime on Greater Manchester’s streets. Joan described her son Kennie as her ‘baby’. "I know he's not a baby but to me he's a baby, he's my youngest of four,” she said.

A ‘fun’ teenager who loved nothing more than cracking a joke, or going out with friends. Joan said: "Here's a sum-up of my Kennie - a lazy teenage boy that slept all day, played his PlayStation, ate, went out for half an hour, came back in and that was Kennie's daily routine. The day he died, he didn't get up until gone teatime.”

It was