A 14-year-old boy who killed a man after slapping him and kicking him in the head said he was copying a scene from a cult 1990s comedy.
The teenager slapped Christopher Molloy eight times in the face as he lay helpless on the ground after being punched by 25-year-old Joseph Byrne on Stanley Road, Bootle, in the early hours of July 12 2022. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told a jury that he was "copying a thing he saw" in the 1995 movie Friday, in which a character played by stand-up comedian Chris Tucker shouts: "You got knocked the f*** out".
Mr Molloy, 55, was knocked unconscious by Joseph Byrne, of Linacre Road in Litherland, after he was accused of "touching" the 14-year-old boy's girlfriend. After walking briefly away, Joseph's brother Jay Byrne, 26, of Leyland Road, Southport and the boy returned to the scene and kicked the vulnerable security guard in the head. He died of his injuries a week later.
