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 three times in the chest during an event 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 returned a guilty verdict for murder and possession of a sharp article. In the courtroom, Mr. Cosser's family members cried and hugged each other as the decision was handed down.

The trial heard how the convicted defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pulled a knife from his shoulder bag during a fight involving Mr Cosser and two other boys at a party in Warnham, near Horsham, in July 2023.

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

One person captured some of the violence on video as she began filming her friends dancing to Britney Spears' song Toxic under the marquee's disco lights, with the fight visible in the background.

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.

Opening the file, he said: “In the darkness and noise of a crowded dance floor, his use of the knife and his stabbing went unnoticed by those nearby. The defendant stabbed Charlie Cosser with this knife as they gathered on the dance floor.

Mr Cosser collapsed on the floor at the party called 'BalFest' and was still able to communicate with paramedics when they arrived at the scene. However, two days later he died following a cut to his aorta, the main artery to the heart.

Witnesses told the trial the defendant drank an “excessive amount” of vodka and appeared “angry” after an older man unsuccessfully tried to get him to leave the party over his apparent behavior towards a woman. young woman.

The youth chose not to give evidence at the trial but denied murdering Mr Cosser and possessing a sharp article.

He initially pleaded guilty to murder at his first appearance at Lewes Crown Court last year, but before being sentenced he successfully applied to have his guilty plea withdrawn, prompting the trial.

Mr Cosser'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.

Since his death, they have set up a charity called Charlie's Promise, dedicated to tackling knife crime in Surrey and across the UK.

The defendant will be sentenced later.