Middleton man assaulted murder witness

A 21-year old man from Middleton has pleaded guilty to section 47 assault and perverting the course of justice after he punched a 16-year old boy who had witnessed a murder.

On Monday 8 September last year the boy ran into a house in Moston, went into the living room and apologised to the woman inside the house before running upstairs to hide.
Shortly afterwards, John Boyd, of Nowell Road, came into the same house and asked the woman where the boy was. She said that he had gone.

Boyd left, but after a few more minutes, came back and went upstairs. He found the boy, punched him in the face and then left. He told the boy never to call his friend a murderer again.

The boy came back downstairs with bruising and blood on his face.

Boyd was arrested the following day.

The incident related to a murder that had occurred in the early hours of Saturday 16 August when another teenage boy stabbed a joinery student to death in Moston because of an argument over a computer games console.

After a trial at Manchester Crown Court, Crown Square, the 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Conor Black.

Both defendants will be sentenced on Friday 20 February 2009.

The 16-year-old boy wanted to confront Conor over the alleged theft of an Xbox game, and fatally stabbed him on Garnant Close in Moston.

Shortly before midnight on Friday 15 August, Conor arrived at a house on Lightbowne Road where he had planned to spend the evening with friends.

He then received a phone call inviting him to a house party on Garnant Close.

Conor and his friends took up the invitation, but when they arrived they were asked to wait outside.

After a few minutes, a number of teenage boys came outside of the house, followed by the offender.

He asked one of the boys for a can of beer. He took the can in his left hand and with the other hand he pulled a kitchen knife from his waistband.

The boy approached Conor and hit him on the head with the beer can. He then plunged the knife below Conor's left shoulder blade, as he was trying to move away.

Conor managed to run away from the house, but collapsed when he got a short distance away on Moston Lane.

Police and paramedics arrived at the scene. Conor died from a single stab wound on the way to hospital.

At Garnant Close, the boy was showing off to everybody at the party, saying that he was 'the best'.

He threatened to kill anyone who mentioned his name to the police.

The police launched a murder inquiry and started interviewing witnesses.

At 7.45pm on Sunday 17 August, the 16-year-old boy handed himself in to police at Ashton police station. He was arrested on suspicion of Conor's murder.