It was in the dead of night when two men spotted a teenager staggering in the middle of the street.
Covered in blood and quickly dropping in and out of consciousness, he used his final breath to tell the complete strangers the names of the two teenagers who had brutally stabbed him just moments earlier.
He hoped it would be enough for police to track down James White, 16, and Mark Nuttall, 15.
It would prove to be an essential key in solving the tragic case.
On May 4, 15-year-old Reece Tansey was stabbed six times after being embroiled in a fight near Great Lever Park in Bolton.
White and Nuttall had coaxed Reece and a friend into meeting up with the pair in the middle of the night when no one else would be around.
But when Reece's friend decided not to attend, Reece arrived at the meeting spot alone.
He was unarmed and outnumbered.
A pathologist concluded Reece's death was caused by 'multiple stab wounds' and the shocking details of his murder were brought to light in a grueling trial at Manchester Crown Court.
The court was told how friends White and Nuttall were fueled by the bravado of social media and liked 'pretending they were gangsters'.
On that Tuesday morning, they'd crept out of their home armed with a knife each before heading to meet Reece.
After fatally stabbing Reece, the boys quickly fled the scene while Reece made his last bid for justice.
But the boys couldn't keep quiet for long. Giving into the pressures of social media once again, White sent a Snapchat video of himself carrying a knife covered in blood, accompanied by the word ‘muppet’.
He later sent a message to Nuttall, which read: "I thought it only went through his coat so I kept doing it."
He added: "He's dead now."
Nuttall responded with a laughing emoji.
They were arrested a short while later.
Throughout the duration of a police investigation and the subsequent trial and sentencing, both White and Nuttall were protected by stringent reporting restrictions.
Only able to be identified as Boy A and Boy B, their sinister crimes were shielded to a degree by their anonymity - until last week.
Following an application by both the Manchester Evening News and The Bolton News, Justice Farbey agreed to lift an order made under s45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act restricting the reporting of their identity.
For the first time, the country was informed that both White, found guilty of Reece's murder and jailed for 15 years, and Nuttall, found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to six years imprisonment, had been responsible for the death of Reece.
Their names, their faces and their crimes were read out and displayed throughout the national press - even making it to international outlets too.
For Reece's family, being able to now identify White and Nuttall publicly is a poignant yet tragic part of their healing process.
Reece's dad Ian Nice, 47, said his son would have wanted his killers' names to be revealed.
Ian said it was even something that comes to him as a bit of a relief after months of torment.
“It would have been hard for Reece that they weren’t named," Ian explained.
"Now he’s got closure.
“It was also hard because we couldn’t put anything on social media. We couldn’t put the names out there, but now it’s a relief.
“I know that Reece wanted to carry that on, with them being named. Reece’s last words before he died were the names of the lads.”
He added: “He wasn’t just my son, he was my best friend, and I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye and hold his hand and say: “I love you, son.”
Ian, who works in traffic management, said that he last spoke to Reece in the hours before his death.
He'd asked Reece - who he described as his 'best friend' - to visit him for a takeaway and says he will never stop thinking about what could have happened if he had come over instead of hanging out with his friends.
“I’d rung him between 9:30pm and 10:00pm," he explained.
"He used to always come by to chill on the PS4 and have a takeaway night.
"That’s the bond that we had – he was my best mate.
“Reece had said, “Dad, stopping f*cking pecking my head. I’m with my friends!” so I said: “Alright then son, I’ll leave you with your friends.”
“I said: “I love you, son, I love you.” That was it.
“I’m so annoyed he didn’t come to mine that night – I blame myself. But I couldn’t push Reece, I couldn’t force him to come to mine.”
Ian said he was heartbroken that he couldn’t be with Reece during his final moments.
He said: “I brought him into the world. I held him in my hands when he was born, and I cut the cord. And not me being there on his last moments in life, that hurts me.”
“But I’m so proud of him. If I had been stabbed several times, I’m sure I would have fallen to the floor and that would be it.
“He knocked on someone’s door crying for help, and they held his hand – they were with him until he died. I thanked the people dearly for what they did for my son and spoke to them.
He added: “If I could have one more hour with and a brew and a takeaway, I'd just say ‘I love you, and you go on and live your life up there, and dad will always be here and do things for your name, and you name will live on.’”
But Ian said his battle for justice is far from over. Reece's family plan to appeal the length of Nuttall's jail sentence.
Ian said his family are now appealing the length of Nuttall’s six years jail term for manslaughter.
Despite reports that dozens of weapons have been handed in to police in the wake of Reece's murder, Ian said that he feels the sentences handed to White and Nuttall won’t do enough to deter children from carrying knives in the future.
He said: “There has to be a law and tougher sentences for knife crime because there are kids killing kids.
“The government are not doing anything about knife crime.
“They can f***ing throw parties, but Boris should be sitting down to deal with knife crime.
“He should be getting tougher punishments, tougher sentences and more police on the streets.
“You’re not carrying a knife to cut potatoes and carrots on a street. You’re carrying a knife intentionally to kill someone.”
Ian, who is part of a charity called Stop Knife Crime Bolton, says he wants Reece’s name to live on.
He also plans to talk to school kids and spread awareness in the future.
“I’m so proud of him that he stood tall and he stood big,” he added.
“But at the same time – as a father – the way that he’s left us, my life will never be the same.”
