The mother of a 20-year-old brutally murdered as violence erupted at an after party following Manchester's Caribbean Carnival said she will be forever haunted by her son's death. Javell Morgan was stabbed to death in Moss Side last summer, when two groups of young men from Huddersfield clashed in the street, one side armed with guns, the other with knives.
Javell was not armed but was chased down and repeatedly stabbed by Jacob Doughty, 22, and Deontay Crosfield. Manchester Crown Court heard that Doughty inflicted the fatal blow with a fearsome 'samurai sword'.
"This case involved a very serious disturbance in what should have been a joyful occasion in Moss Side," Judge Suzanne Goddard KC said. "No sentence that I can pass on you can possibly atone for the pain that you have caused," she told the defendants.
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Both men were handed life sentences. Doughty must serve a minimum of 21 years, and Crosfield 20 years, before they can be considered for release.
Prosecutors argued that the case involved 'conflict between rival gangs'. Judge Goddard said the case had 'obvious gang overtones', but said there was a 'lack of evidence of current gang membership', particularly in relation to Crosfield.
After the killing, referencing his victim, Doughty messaged a friend and said: "Shouldn't be a gang member, innit." Javell's mother Vicky, who also has three daughters, told of her family's devastation at the tragic loss of a son, grandson, sibling and friend.
"No mother should have to bury their child," she said in a statement read in court on her behalf. She recalled being called by the police following the incident, identifying her son and 'having to kiss his cold face whole the police looked on'.
"All this will haunt me forever," she said. "We are all serving a life sentence.
"Trying to be brave every day in front of the girls is utterly exhausting. There is no act so cruel than taking a person so young away from their family." She said she 'can't imagine myself forgiving' those responsible.
The court heard that teachers regarded Javell's teenage sisters as high achievers, but the grief caused by their brother's death has affected their studies.
His eight-year-old cousin asked 'why God would have let this happen'. His mother added: "Javell will be remembered by us all."
The court heard that Doughty and Crosfield had attended last summer's carnival on August 14 with friends. Both had brought knives with them from Huddersfield.
Just after midnight they became involved in an altercation with another group of young men from Huddersfield. Prosecutor John Elvidge KC said: "A by-stander heard one of the members of the opposing team say to another 'there’s ops right there, I see ops right there'."
Javell was with others including Mikyle Bucknor, 19, and Karmarni Batler, 20. Bucknor and Batler were both armed with guns.
Harlan Richards, 19, had a sawn off shotgun. Bucknor's group were the initial aggressors.
Bucknor pointed a loaded handgun at Simeon Baptiste, a man who had been with Doughty and Crosfield When he moved forward, another man named Darius Blackburn struck out at his arm and the gun was fired into the ground.
"The tables turned in an instant," Mr Elvidge said. Doughty, of Ponyfield Close, Huddersfield, and Crosfield, of Rawthorpe Crescent, Huddersfield, chased down the other group and caught Javell, who was stabbed five times. The pair were found guilty of murder after a trial.
Mr Baptiste, 24, of Wellfield Bank, Huddersfield, Mr Blackburn, 21, of Towngate, Huddersfield, and another man, Byron Goodhall, 23, of Dalmeny Avenue, Huddersfield, also stood trial and were found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.
Following a second crown court trial, Bucknor, of Farrar Drive, Huddersfield, and Batler, of Belle Vue Crescent, Huddersfield, were convicted of attempting to murder Mr Baptiste. Harlan Richards, of Trafalgar Close, Huddersfield, was found not guilty of attempted murder but guilty of possessing of a firearm with intent to endanger life. The three men will be sentenced in July.
Prosecutors said the motive for the attack may never be known. Doughty was previously brought the courts after being found with a concealed knife at a nightclub in 2021. The police had visited his family after they were concerned about 'his connection to gangs', the court heard.
His barrister Gordon Cole KC said that Doughty comes from a 'good family'. The judge said that Crosfield, who has previous convictions for burglary and possessing a machete, has 'good qualities' and could have had led a law abiding life.
In a letter submitted to the court, he said he 'hates gangs and everything that goes with gang culture'. Judge Goddard praised the work of GMP officers who investigated the case, as well as witnesses who gave testimony at the trial.
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