SCHOOLBOY KILLERS MURDERED NATHANIEL

BOYS, 13 AND 14, WEEP IN DOCK AS JURY FINDS THEM GUILTY OF KNIFE KILLING AFTER FIGHT OVER STOLEN DRUGS

- ANDREW BARDSLEY

TWO boys, aged 13 and 14, wept in the dock as they were found guilty of murdering another teenager by stabbing him to death.

Nathaniel Shani died after being knifed in the neck in an alleyway.

Boy A, 14, and Boy B, 13, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had denied the charge but were found guilty after a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Boy A admitted stabbing Nathaniel, also 14, in Harpurhey, but claimed to have been acting in selfdefence. Boy B, who had been armed with a screwdriver, had allegedly encouraged his co-accused.

The pair will be sentenced in June.

The jury reached their verdicts after about 20 hours of deliberations.

Nathaniel's family have described him as "kind, caring and always thinking of others. He was polite and the most loving person." 

The trial heard that Nathaniel died following a row over cannabis being stolen. Nathaniel and Boy A had met in an alleyway off Tavistock Square as part of a fight to settle differences, the court heard.