A schoolboy was stabbed in a vicious suspected revenge attack following a brutal murder.
The 15-year-old suffered life-threatening wounds just days after Connor Dockerty, 23, was knifed to death in Huyton. The second stabbing was just one of a series of incidents last April, amid heightened tension in the aftermath of the young dad's killing.
That night, an anonymous source told the ECHO the boy was targeted "because he hung around with the kid who killed the lad by the Oak [the Oak Tree Pub in Kingsway]". That claim was supported by a Merseyside Police statement provided to Liverpool Crown Court last week, when Mr Dockerty's killer - a 15-year-old boy, aka Boy A - was locked up for life.
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Boy A was aged only 14 when he stabbed Mr Dockerty four times, including once in the heart, in Kingsway, at around 8pm on Monday, April 19 last year. The ECHO asked for reporting restrictions to be lifted so Boy A could be named, in the interests of open justice and deterring further knife crime on our streets.
But Merseyside Police opposed our application, citing a series of "reprisal" attacks on Boy A's family and his associates, and concerns over their safety. We can now reveal these incidents included the stabbing of a 15-year-old friend of Boy A, who suffered a punctured lung and ruptured diaphragm.
At around 9.50pm on Friday, April 23, emergency services raced to St Michael's Court in Huyton, where they found the 15-year-old boy with two stab wounds, following an attack on a nearby footpath. Merseyside Police said: "A call was made to police by the ambulance service requesting assistance for a male who had been stabbed in the back and arm in the Huyton area.
"This victim was a close associate of the suspects in this case. He sustained a punctured lung, ruptured diaphragm and bleeding into the lung, following the attack.
"On speaking to police, he reported that the attackers had identified him as a friend of one of the suspects in this case, and then set about kicking and stabbing him, causing serious injury. It is believed that this is a further reprisal attack."
Merseyside Police has since confirmed to the ECHO that two boys, aged 15 and 17, both from Huyton, were arrested on suspicion of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. However, a police spokesman said no further action was taken against the two suspects, now aged 16 and 18, meaning no one has been brought to justice in relation to the revenge stabbing.
Boy A, who is now 15, was found guilty of murder after a trial in December, after jurors rejected his lies that he stabbed unarmed Mr Dockerty in self-defence. The dad-of-two staggered from Kingsway into a nearby garden, where his last words were: "I'm dying - tell my kids I love them."
Prosecutors had also accused a second teen, Boy B, of setting up the killing. They said Mr Dockerty earlier insulted his girlfriend in "unpleasant name calling" and threatened to push or shoved her.
Boy B, then 15 but now 16, said he didn't know Boy A had a knife and insisted there was no joint plan to assault Mr Dockerty. He was found not guilty of murder.
Neither the jury in December, nor a jury at a retrial last month, could reach a verdict on a charge of manslaughter against Boy B. That meant he was acquitted and walked free from court, after prosecutors decided not to seek a third trial against him and offered no evidence.
When the ECHO asked for reporting restrictions to be lifted in respect of Boy A, Merseyside Police also raised concerns over attacks, threats of violence and intimidation aimed at Boy A and his family, at Boy B and his family, and at Boy B's girlfriend. The full extent of these incidents cannot be reported for legal reasons.
In an application to the court, the ECHO argued that any threat to Boy A or his family was more likely to come from those who already know his identity, than from those who would see or hear his name reported in the media. Police acknowledged that point, but said the force was concerned that any wider circulation of Boy A's name was likely to increase the likelihood of "vigilante style attacks" on him or his family.
Judge Neil Flewitt, QC, ruled the "public interest" was "outweighed" by "the need to safeguard the welfare" of Boy A. He said this was bearing in mind "the safety of those closest to him" and "the public interest in the maintenance of good order within the wider community".
Boy A was handed a life sentence, with a minimum of 14 years behind bars before he can apply for his release.
Families Fighting for Justice is a peer support group for families bereaved by homicide.
It runs The Hub, in Anson Street, off Prescot Street near the Royal Liverpool Hospital, which is a drop-in centre with information and support under one roof.
The charity understands the issues affecting a victim's family of homicide or culpable road death and can offer advice and guidance, referral to a network of providers, counselling services, support through the judicial process and more.
For more details on The Hub visit: www.homicidesupporthub.org
