Teen not guilty of killing homeless man in park

A Syrian refugee teenager has been cleared of killing a drunken homeless man with a broken bottle in a park.

Last July, police dropped Milton Hurlington off in Wembley Park, north London, to keep him from getting into trouble, but hours later he was found fatally injured.

Wael Farroukh, 19, has denied murder and possession of an offensive weapon, saying he acted in self-defence and had no intention of killing or actually injuring Mr Hurlington.

An Old Bailey jury deliberated for 13 hours and 30 minutes before finding the defendant not guilty of murder and manslaughter, but guilty of the weapons charge.

“A difficult context”

Judge Ian Bourne KC sentenced the teenager to nine months in prison, but said he would not serve any further time as he had been on remand for 11 months.

He told the defendant: “You were 18 when this happened. You arrived in the UK in 2021, when you were obviously much younger, from Syria.

“You come from a very difficult background and you left your parents behind.”

The court heard that the defendant suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his experiences in Syria.

Judge Bourne said that “by all accounts” Mr Hurlington was “behaving in an unusual manner” on the day of his death.

On July 17, police were called because of the 42-year-old's behaviour towards a bus driver and at a Lidl supermarket, jurors were told.

In the first case, the court heard he accused the driver of being racist and damaging a wing mirror on his vehicle, while in the second case it was alleged he had tried to steal alcohol.

Officers escorted him out of the store and dropped him off at King Edward VII Park.

“Aggressive and rude”

Earlier, Julian Evans KC, prosecuting, said Mr Hurlington was taken to the park so he would not come into “conflict” with anyone.

But once there, Mr Hurlington was “provocative” and “offensive” to Farroukh and his friends, Mr Evans said.

The group moved away but Mr Hurlington followed and tried to talk to them further, jurors were told.

It was claimed the defendant picked up and smashed Mr Hurlington's vodka bottle, chased him and stabbed him twice.

Mr Hurlington was injured in his left elbow.

But he also had a 5cm-deep wound in his right armpit which proved fatal.

When arrested, Mr Farroukh initially denied the attack on Mr Hurlington before telling police the victim had insulted him and his friends.

Mr Evans told jurors the defendant now admitted injuring Mr Hurlington.

The prosecutor said: “He believed Milton was going to attack him and his friends. As a result, he smashed a bottle on the floor to deter him.

“He claims that Milton continued to be aggressive and rude, that Milton assaulted him and that he fought back. He injured Milton with the bottle, he was acting in self-defense. »

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