A teenager who fatally stabbed his friend suggested to police at the crime scene that “black guys” could have been involved, body-cam footage in a new Channel 4 documentary showed.
Channel 4 viewers tuning in to Killed By a Rich Kid on Monday were left appalled at the footage, as the documentary took a forensic look at Joshua Molnar’s fatal stabbing of Yousef Makki, both 17 at the time, in Cheshire in March 2019.
Molnar was later cleared of murder and manslaughter by a jury but jailed for perverting the course of justice by lying to police at the scene and carrying a knife in public.
On the night Manchester teen Yousef died he had been with his friends Adam Chowdhary and Molnar, both from wealthy Cheshire families, who he met through the £12,000-a-year Manchester Grammar School he had won a scholarship to attend.
At an inquest into the stabbing in November last year, Molnar said they then came to blows and knives were produced, which led to the fatal stabbing.
Body-worn footage from the officers scrambled to the scene of the stabbing was aired during the Channel 4 documentary.
The bodycam footage showed Greater Manchester Police on the chaotic crime scene and questioning Molnar on what happened.
In the video, a topless Molnar was seen speaking to police officers just moments after Yousef was stabbed.
An officer asked Molnar: “This is what I need. The 100% truth mate. Why has it happened?”
Molnar lied to the police and said he did not know, adding that people come from Stretford “to try and rob people” and mentioned “black guys” being involved.
Channel 4 viewers were outraged at the assertion and taking to Twitter, one wrote: “I don't like the way the real suspects invent a group of black guys to take the blame at the scene.”
Another said: “I am raging saying they were black lads when it was YOU.”
Another viewer wrote: “So a white privileged teen just killed his “mate” and he blames it on black people when questioned.”
Another viewer described it as “chilling to the bone”, while a fellow viewer said: “Blaming a group of black lads. The rage I have.”
A social media user wrote: “I heard him blame a group of black guys... so disappointing” as another said: “Joshua Molner blaming his disgusting actions on 'a bunch of black guys'.”
Another tweeted: “So Joshua made up a story about Yousef getting attacked by a group of black lads and now he’s denying it after saying it on camera.”
A fellow Channel 4 viewer wrote: “Pretty frightening how the default position is to blame groups of 'black guys'.”
Yousef's sister Jade Akoum, is leading a campaign for the case to be revisited and is seen breaking down in tears while be consoled by her partner.
"I'm trying to be strong but he was my brother," says Jade in the documentary.
"All the details that they said and how he died and we weren't there for him and I'll never forgive myself that I couldn't be there
"He died on his own miles away from where he comes from and we were thinking he was safe."
The Channel 4 documentary has been in production for two years and the filmmakers stated that they approached all the relevant parties when making the programme.
