Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Neil Docking

Boy accused of instigating 'revenge' killing set for retrial

A boy accused of instigating the killing of a man stabbed to death will face a retrial.

Connor Dockerty was knifed four times by a then 14-year-old boy - Boy A - in a Huyton street in April this year.

The 23-year-old was stabbed in the heart during the attack in Kingsway and died in hospital.

READ MORE: Bus driver who drove kids had photos of toddlers being raped

Boy A, now 15, was found guilty of murder by a majority of 10-1, after a six-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Prosecutors alleged it was a "revenge" attack instigated by a second boy, Boy B, after Mr Dockerty had argued with the teenager's girlfriend and shoved her, or threatened to.

Jurors found Boy B, then 15 and now 16, not guilty of murder, but after 15 hours of deliberation, couldn't reach a verdict on a charge of manslaughter against him.

The jury was discharged last Friday, when Judge Neil Flewitt, QC, gave the Crown Prosecution Service a week to decide whether to have a retrial.

Kevin Slack, prosecuting, today said: "In relation to Boy B and count two on the indictment [manslaughter] the prosecution are seeking a retrial. That's having considered the gravity of the allegation and the evidence that's available to support it."

Boy A was accused of being armed with two knives when he confronted Mr Dockerty, at around 8pm, on Monday, April 19.

He admitted having an article with a blade - the knife he accepted using to stab Mr Dockerty, which he claimed was in self-defence.

However, the jury was also unable to reach a verdict on whether he was in possession of a second blade, as alleged by the prosecution.

That charge related to a knife found on a grass verge, which prosecutors said he dropped.

Boy A claimed Mr Dockerty was carrying that knife and came at him with it.

Mr Slack today said: "In relation to Boy A and count four on the indictment [having an article with a blade], the prosecution do not consider it in the public interest to proceed further with that allegation.

"That is taking into account the convictions for murder and possession of the murder weapon."

Judge Flewitt fixed Boy B's retrial - estimated to last two to three weeks - for February 14 next year.

The jury also unanimously found a 44-year-old man, John Batey, of no fixed address but from Huyton, guilty of assisting an offender, namely Boy A.

Judge Flewitt ordered pre-sentence reports for Boy A and Batey.

He said they will be sentenced at the conclusion of Boy B's trial.

Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.