A man from the Midlands, who stabbed a teenager to death has been found guilty of murder and will serve a minimum of 32 years.
On the night of the attack, Daniel Kirkwood was out celebrating a friend’s 18th birthday when Tobijah Thompson violently stabbed Mr Kirkwood in the neck. Two of Daniel’s friends, Nigel Mkhwananzi and Niall Kavanagh were also stabbed, one in the arm and one in the back.
The injured teenagers managed to get out of the Coventry nightclub but as they reached the road outside Daniel collapsed. As Daniel lay fatally injured, Thompson and three friends drove off shouting abuse as they left.
Thompson denied murdering Daniel on March 15th last year, however, last month a jury at Warwick Crown Court found him guilty of Daniel’s murder and of wounding two of his friends with intent to cause them grievous bodily harm and violent disorder.
The judge revealed how Thompson had taken the knife into the club without being searched, because of his friendship with the security guards.
Hasham Ali, Ramez Murtaza and Ezra Scott had all pleaded guilty during the trial to violent disorder, having originally been jointly charged with murder and woundings. Murtaza also admitted Daniel’s manslaughter by acting in support of Thompson.
Murtaza, 21, has been jailed for eight years for manslaughter, with concurrent terms of three years and four months for violent disorder and two years and ten months for assault.
For their parts in the violent disorder Ali was jailed for 29 months and Scott for 28 months.
Prosecutor Michael Burrows QC revealed that Daniel’s mother, Pauline Darcy, had learned of her son’s death on Mothers Day last year.
Mr Burrows also disclosed that Mr Mkhwannazi would also have died, after being stabbed in the back by Thompson, if it had not been for the quick medical attention, while Mr Kavanagh has still not regained full use of the arm in which he was stabbed.
