Boy who stabbed man in the heart says it was self defence
| Published date | 26 October 2021 |
Two boys, who deny his murder and cannot be named because of their age, today went on trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
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Prosecutors allege Boy A, who was 14 at the time and is now 15, was armed with two knives when he killed Mr Dockerty.
They allege Boy B -then aged 15 but now 16 -"instigated" the attack after Mr Dockerty argued with his girlfriend.
When arrested, Boy A denied he was a suspect seen riding a red mountain bike and told police he had been at home.
Tania Griffiths, QC, prosecuting, said: "Boy A now accepts that he was the one who stabbed Connor Dockerty and killed him that night.
"He says he told lies originally in his police interview -claiming he was at home at the time -because he panicked."
Ms Griffiths argued it was "not a case of lying because of panic" and Boy A had been "forced to accept the weight of evidence against him" and "change tack".
She said: "His new defence is one of self-defence. He now says that Connor came at him with a knife and he was forced to defend himself.
"The prosecution say that this is yet more lies, there is no evidence to support this recent suggestion of Boy A's beyond his own suggestion, and it is an opportunistic attempt to blame someone else who is no longer here to speak for themselves."
Ms Griffiths said Mr Dockerty was stabbed at around 8pm and died within an hour of what was a "planned attack" by the two boys.
She said: "Boy B, we say, not only took part in this joint attack, he appears to have instigated it, in revenge for Connor having slighted his girlfriend."
Ms Griffiths said the "catalyst" seemed to be a "minor verbal altercation" between Mr Dockerty and three girls in Kingsway.
The prosecutor said after the girls crossed Liverpool Road it appeared Mr Dockerty, who was on a black Ghost bike, met them at a "pinch point" where the pavement narrowed and "barged through the group of females who were blocking his way".
She said: "It is suggested that he took hold of one of them [Boy B's girlfriend] and shoved her into the road, or threatened to do so."
Ms Griffiths said phone records showed the girl rang Boy B's mobile at 7.50pm for one minute and 27 seconds, as the girls reached shops on Gentwood Road.
She said another boy, Boy C, who was with the suspects, heard Boy B say "What, he's hit you" and described...
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