Jury out in 'hoodie gang murder' of boy, 14, stabbed in the heart with samurai sword

Paul Erhahon, 14, was allegedly set upon by the group of youngsters, aged between 14 and 19, on Good Friday last year as they tried to "earn their spurs" in the local gang.

The seven defendants, none of whom can be named for legal reasons, deny murder, attempted murder and wounding with intent.

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The Old Bailey heard they were carrying a samurai sword, baseball bats, knives and a heavy chain during the assault in a block of flats in Leytonstone, east London.

Paul was punched, battered and then stabbed through the heart with a sword under orders given out by older boys in the mob, the jury was told.

They have already been considering their verdict for two days after the three-month-long trial ended last week.

Paul was heard desperately shouting: "You can't be shanking me, you can't be stabbing me" during the vicious assault.

He managed to run off, chased by a youth with a baseball bat, but collapsed yards from his home, the court heard.

His assailants, some of whom were wearing hoods and masks, then allegedly started on his friend but soon left him for dead.

Prosecuting counsel claimed they were heard afterwards laughing and joking about the attack in a nearby park.

Paul was found moaning: "I'm dying, I'm dying" and died half an hour later with his distraught parents at his side.

His 15-year-old friend, who cannot be named, was stabbed five times but managed to survive.

The jury was told that the alleged attackers belonged to a gang called the Cathall Boys or E11, referring to the estate and East London postcode where they lived.

Prosecutor Jonathan Turner QC said: "You will hear that such gangs, mainly comprised of upper-teenagers or young men in their early 20s, often have younger acolytes who look up to them and earn their spurs by doing the bidding of their elders.

"These are the 'youngers' I mentioned earlier. They can be as young as 12 or 13 and, the Crown alleges, this gang was no different."

Mr Turner added that it was almost impossible to identify any sort of motive, saying: "As to the reasons for the attack, the Crown suggests that even after having heard all the evidence you may struggle to find a convincing one.

"The killing of Paul and the attempted killing of his friend were senseless acts of gratuitous violence in pursuit of no real grievance and for no credible cause.

"Neither Paul nor his friend was armed. Neither did anything to provoke the attack. Neither tried to fight back nor to defend themselves when they were attacked.

"Their assailants, after inflicting the fatal injuries, went calmly to a local park where they discussed what they had just done amidst joking and laughter."

The court was told there was some local rivalry between youngsters living in the Cathall Road estate and those on the Thatched House estate but the procecution said the attack was not prompted by a gang feud.

A gang of up to 13 teenagers had massed around Paul when he was in the block of flats, it was alleged.

The court heard he tried to ignore one teenager who told him to come over but as the pair exchanged words, the schoolboy was attacked as the youth shouted: "Go on youngsters."

All seven defendants were guilty of a "joint enterprise" which resulted in Paul's death and the attack on the second boy, it was argued.

The jury was told that there was no DNA evidence linking them to the crime but that each one was picked out in video ID parades by at least one witness.