It has been a year since 16-year-old Kennie Carter was stabbed to death. He had his whole life ahead of him, and was walking home when the fatal attack took place, sending shockwaves through the local community.
12 months on, despite numerous arrests, extensive investigations, over 100 people spoken to and repeated appeals for information, the search for answers continues. Police have now re-issued a plea in the hope new information will assist with the inquiry.
Tragedy struck on January 22, 2022. Emergency services were called just before 7pm to a report of a 16-year-old boy with serious injuries on Thirlmere Avenue in Stretford. Kennie had been found by passers-by who called 999. Despite the best efforts of paramedics, Kennie didn't make it.
READ MORE Parents of murdered teen urge people to 'do the right thing' and help bring justice
Now, on the anniversary of the stabbing, his heartbroken parents have urged anyone with information about their son's death to 'do the right thing' and help bring his killer to justice. They remain desperate for answers and say they have had 'no closure'. In a video appeal, Joan Dixon and Glen Carter called on witnesses to assist police.
Joan said: "We're a year on and we've had no closure. There must be somebody out there with just even a small bit of information that may help. If you do have any information, please just do the right thing. You can imagine if it was your child how heartbreaking it would be not to have your son there every day. It rips you apart."
Emergency services first swarmed Thirlmere Avenue on the evening of January 22. Police volunteers described the scene as 'chaos', as paramedics and members of the public desperately performed CPR on the teenager as his parents, who lived nearby, watched on.
Within six days of his death, detectives had already questioned eight suspects, all teenagers, and spoken to a number of witnesses as part of their ongoing investigation. Three were later released with no further action as five were bailed pending further enquiries at the time.
Following the fatal attack, Greater Manchester Police called a press conference at the end of January last year, where Assistant Chief Constable Creely confirmed that knife crime was a top priority for the force, saying: "I would like to reiterate the Chief Constable's promise to Greater Manchester that GMP is a force which focuses on fighting, preventing and reducing crime to keep people safe."
A week after the stabbing, Kennie's family appealed for people to come forward with information and said 'young lives like Kennie's are being lost far too often'. A year on, they are still making the same plea.
In February, an inquest into Kennie's death was opened at South Manchester Coroner's Court. The brief hearing heard that a post-mortem recorded he died as a consequence of a stab wound to the chest.
By this time, nine teenagers - all aged between 13 and 17 - had been arrested on suspicion of murder before being released on bail. Police continued their extensive investigations, appealing specifically for anyone who was in the Moss Road, Thirlmere Road, and Victoria Road areas on the night of the stabbing.
As investigations continued, a line of enquiry being followed was that Kennie had been killed as part of a 'revenge attack' by a gang of youths. Police believed that as he walked home, the 16-year-old had been followed before being pounced on by a group wearing hoods and Covid masks.
Two months on from his death, Special Sergeant Lauren Whitworth, 33, who was first on the scene of the fatal stabbing, described her feeling of helplessness as the youth lay dying in the street. "There was chaos, people everywhere as we turned on Thirlmere," she said.
"At that point Kennie was just laying on the floor. There was somebody giving him CPR, a member of the public. The whole neighbourhood was out.
"Once we have arrived it feels like a long time before the ambulance arrived, but it was only a matter of one or two minutes. By that point the whole street was flooded with police and paramedics. It was all happening incredibly fast."
In June, nine teenagers were re-arrested by cops on suspicion of the murder of Kennie. Eight of the suspects were bailed once more pending further enquiries. By this point, Major Incident Team investigators revealed they had spoken to more than 50 people, gathered 100 hours of CCTV and executed a dozen warrants since the incident.
By July, sixth months on from the fatal stabbing, a total of 80 people had been spoken to in relation to the incident. Ten youths remained under investigation at the time.
A stark message was then issued on the eve of the six-month anniversary of Kennie's death, as detectives continued to urge anyone with any information about what happened to come forward. Detective Chief Inspector Alicia Smith said: "There are people out there who have had conversations with those involved who know exactly what happened that night and we need those people to come forward and speak to us. With murder investigations, they don't go away.
"They will not go away whether it's two years down the line, five years, 10 years, 20 years - a murder investigation will never be closed. So we will never get closure for the family and get the justice that the family need for Kennie until people come forward and speak to us."
In August, the full of details of three incidents that preceded the fatal stabbing were disclosed for the first time at a pre-inquest review hearing. Investigators had established there were three incidents in the hours before Kennie was stabbed.
On Friday, January 21, Detective Inspector Edwards told the court there was an incident in a chicken shop on Chester Road where 'a male was assaulted by a number of other males' where it was thought Kennie was present.
The court heard that on the same day, there was what 'appears to be some sort of pre-planned confrontation between the two groups' in Victoria Park. Then on Saturday, January 22, in the hours before Kennie's death, 'the two groups have met up again' and were 'involved in some form of verbal altercation' at Stretford Mall.
At around 6pm on Saturday January 22, the hearing was told by Inspector Edwards that Kennie was with a 'number of associates' at a flat on Hattons Court. A total of 12 males arrived at the location and 'managed to gain entry to the communal area'. She added that 11 of the 12 were captured on Metrolink CCTV cameras as it appeared they had used the tram to travel to the location.
The inquest heard that later, Kennie left the flat to make his way home but encountered the group and was subsequently chased down Moses Road and onto Thirlmere Avenue, where he was later discovered with the fatal stab wound. The inquest hearing was adjourned, with no charges brought by police.
In December last year, two further arrests were made by police in connection with the fatal stabbing. A 15-year-old and 18-year-old were arrested during dawn raids on the morning of December 21, taking the total of youths arrested to 12. Police called the arrests a 'considerable step forward in the investigation', revealing that by that point, over 100 people had been spoken to by officers.
"Although it has been nearly a year since Kennie’s death, our work will not stop until we are certain that we have caught his killers," Detective Chief Inspector Alicia Smith said.
To date, 12 teenagers – all aged between 13 and 18 – have been arrested on suspicion of murder. They have all since been released under investigation whilst enquiries continue
Last Friday, (January 20) police called another press conference, where they issued an update on the 'long and meticulous investigation'. Detectives announced they are making progress but need the 'added pieces to the jigsaw' to get justice.
A £50,000 reward was offered to anyone with key information which leads to the charge and conviction of those responsible for Kennie’s murder.
DCI Smith said: "There’s been quite a few hypotheses around what happened on the night. We do know that on the night that Kennie was walking home away from an incident on his own because he thought it was safe to do so. Sadly, it was when he was on his own walking away from where he thought the trouble was that he was murdered.
"Kennie’s death has left an unimaginable pain and heartache to a very, very loving family. Please think of Kennie’s family today, they are desperate for answers and deserve to know what happened and why."
Anyone can contact Greater Manchester Police with information on 0161 856 9908 or 101 quoting incident 2529 of January 22, 2022. Any footage or images from the night should be submitted here.
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