Teenager guilty of murder after stabbing boy to death on dance floor at end-of-year party

A 17-year-old boy has been found guilty of murdering a teenager who was stabbed to death on a crowded dance floor at a holiday party.

Charlie Cosser was stabbed multiple times during the event which took place on a rural farm attended by around 100 people in West Sussex last year. He died in hospital two days later.

At Brighton Crown Court on Tuesday, A jury found a 17-year-old boy guilty of Charlie's murder and possession of a sharp article.

In the courtroom, Charlie's family members cried and hugged each other as the verdicts were handed down.

The trial had heard how the defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pulled a knife from his shoulder bag during the face-to-face confrontation with Charlie at the party in Warnham, near Horsham in July 2023.

He then attacked Charlie before later telling his friends, with his hands and pants covered in blood, that he had “stabbed someone five or six times”.

Mr Alan Gardner KC, prosecuting, said the fight took place after the defendant – who was 16 at the time – and his friends were asked to leave due to complaints from a girl present at the party.

Charlie collapsed on the floor at the party called “BalFest” and was still able to communicate with paramedics when they arrived on scene.

However, two days later he died from his stab wounds.

Video footage played to jurors showed partygoers just before midnight dancing to Britney Spears' Toxic under disco lights in the marquee.

A fight was visible in the background with punches thrown before the recording ended.

Charlie's death last year sparked an outpouring of tributes. The boy, known as 'Cheeks', was described as 'cheeky' and 'loving' by his family, who added: 'Although he fought bravely until the very end of his youth and innocent life, his injuries were too serious and he died tragically on the evening of Tuesday July 25.

A fundraiser for Sussex University Hospitals in his name topped £5,000.

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