A 16-year-old boy has been found guilty of murder after stabbing another 16-year-old boy to death over a £20 drug debt at Seaford railway station.
The teenager, who cannot be identified by law, was convicted of murdering Joshua Ingram, known to friends and family as Josh, on Wednesday 10 September last year.
There were gasps in the public gallery in Hove Crown Court – where Josh’s family have been following the trial – as the jury returned its verdict today (Wednesday 5 August).
The judge, Sir Charles Bourne, known as Mr Justice Bourne, remanded the boy in youth custody until Friday 2 October when he is due to be sentenced.
Two other boys, 17 and 15, were cleared of conspiring to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent between Sunday 1 June and Thursday 11 September.
Jurors found all three young defendants not guilty of that charge in the lead up to the murder.
The jury convicted the 15-year-old of assisting an offender on the day of the murder. The 17-year-old had already pleaded guilty to the charge.
After the jury’s verdicts, Josh’s family said in a statement, which was read on their behalf, that he was a “cheeky chappy” who was two days into a bricklaying course at college, starting a new chapter in his life.
His family, including his parents Dave Ingram and Yvette Bullen, said: “This is a future life he will now never achieve. As a family, our lives changed forever that evening.
“We hope Josh’s story serves as a reminder of the devastating consequences of knife crime. This reckless behaviour devastates countless lives.
“So we urge young people to rethink, choose a different path in life, to avoid another family going through the pain and suffering we have and will continue to do so for the rest of our lives.”
The jury was told that the 16-year-old defendant was a “small-time drug dealer” who had supplied Josh with drugs last summer but had not been paid for them.
Snapchat messages from the teenage killer were read to the jury. They said: “Josh will perish if I don’t get my fucking money. That’s a fact and he knows this.
“I’m ready to sit in a prison cell for 30 years over a £20 sheet.”
Rossano Scamardella, prosecuting, said that the 16-year-old went to Seaford on the day of the attack carrying a knife with a blade that was about 7in or 19cm long hidden in his tracksuit trousers.
At the station, he went up to Josh, who was from Newhaven, approaching from behind and stabbed him twice.
Mr Scamardella said: “Joshua stood no chance. The speed of the attack from behind gave him no chance to defend himself and the injury he sustained was so serious that he could not survive.
“He collapsed on the station platform and despite the very best attempts by members of the public and emergency workers, he died within an hour of being stabbed and even before he could be taken to hospital.
“All of this over a £20 cannabis debt.”
The 16-year-old admitted manslaughter and said in evidence during the trial that it was a “tragic and reckless moment”.
The boy told jurors that he viewed the 19cm knife as an “accessory” which he had bought on Telegram but “didn’t look at it for what it actually was”.
He said that he had never intended to kill or seriously harm Joshua but to send him a warning.
The jury was also told in evidence that the teenager had had the knife that he used to kill Josh since he was in Year 9. At home, he would “wave it around and playfully intimidate” others with the knife.
When he stabbed Josh, the jury was told that the blade had travelled about 6in or 15cm into Joshua’s body.
A friend who was with Josh when the stabbing happened gave evidence at the trial. He said that he saw the killer take the knife out and stab Josh twice “with no hesitation”.
A second or two before the stabbing, the killer asked: “Is that Josh?”
He then dashed past the friend, pulled a knife from his right hip, “went for it twice” and ran.
He said: “He had no hesitation. He had a very still facial expression. He wasn’t pulling a face. He didn’t look like he had anger in him.
“He looked very calm and just normal but then just did that. I don’t think Josh even knew what had happened.”
The friend described how Joshua walked a couple of steps and then “dropped to the floor” as he tried to call 999.
The jury was shown security camera footage as Josh collapsed on the railway station platform and the killer ran away.
After the verdicts, Josh’s family said that he was a “kind-hearted lad” who touched the lives of those who knew and loved him in so many ways.
They added: “While today’s verdict brings a measure of justice to our family, it will never bring Josh back. And no sentence, however long, will ever replace the precious life that was stolen from him or heal the devastating loss to our family.”
