Teenager guilty of manslaughter for stabbing Afghan refugee in Twickenham Park

A teenager has been found guilty of manslaughter for stabbing an Afghan refugee to death just hours after he was convicted of possessing a knife.

Hazrat Wali, 18, died from a 10cm deep wound at Craneford Way playing fields in Twickenham, southwest London, on October 12, 2021.

The 17-year-old boy had appeared at a magistrates' court on the morning of the murder to plead guilty to being caught with a knife two months earlier. The judge issued him a juvenile rehabilitation order.

At his murder trial he claimed he had not intended to cause serious harm to Mr Wali, a student and aspiring cricketer.

On Tuesday, an Old Bailey jury found him innocent of murder but guilty of the lesser alternative charge of manslaughter.

The court heard the victim was sitting with a friend on the day of her death when the accused and five other teenagers approached them.

Prosecutors said one girl in the group said they “looked good together” before the killer glared at him.

Mr Wali stood up and approached him, and the accused pushed him in the chest, daring him to “come to me then”.

Jurors were told Mr Wali called a friend for help, but the 17-year-old pulled out a 20cm black knife.

Mr Wali told his friend to move away and, as the pushing continued, he was stabbed in the right side.

He grabbed the accused's jacket and asked him: “Why did you stab me?” before picking up a fallen branch and collapsing in front of the players at a school rugby match.

The jury heard a teacher administered first aid and emergency services were called, but Mr Wali died about an hour later.

The defendant told the court he pulled out the knife as they “pushed each other” and wanted to be left alone.

He said he had been “scared” when Mr Wali called his friend for “help” and thought he might also be carrying a knife.

At the time of the murder, he also claimed he was carrying a knife because he felt unsafe on the streets and after incidents in which he, a cousin and a friend were attacked.

He also described being involved in drug dealing within the county limits after coming under pressure from older boys in 2020 – who he said had threatened him.

The teenager, who cannot be named because he is under 18, was placed in juvenile detention and will be sentenced on March 10.