Teenager convicted of murder over fatal stabbing outside Bedford bus station
On Thursday, Bennett Ndenkeh, 19, was found guilty of the murder after a seven-week trial at Luton Crown Court, Bedfordshire Police said.
Bennett Ndenkeh (Bedfordshire Police/PA)
Riaz Miah, 18, was found not guilty of murder, but convicted of manslaughter in connection with the incident.
The police said a group of teenagers launched an attack on Thomas and two others – which escalated when Ndenkeh produced a knife and fatally stabbed Thomas.
The court heard Miah had been assaulted by someone linked to Thomas in the days before the stabbing, the force said.
On the day he was killed, Thomas exchanged messages with Miah warning against retaliation, before agreeing to meet in the town centre where he was attacked.
The gang fled the scene in Greenhill Street, with Ndenkeh taking a taxi while Miah was picked up in a friend's car.
Thomas was taken to hospital where he died shortly after arrival.
Both Ndenkeh and Miah were arrested within three days of the murder after detectives from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit used CCTV to help identify the teenagers and track their movements leading up to the attack.
Riaz Miah (Bedfordshire Police/PA)
Suspicious messages on seized devices, included Miah telling someone else who was at the attack to say 'no comment everything' just hours before his arrest, the police said.
After the verdict, Detective Chief Inspector Richard Stott, who led the investigation for the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: 'This was a brutal and senseless act of violence that has ended the life of a young man who had so many years and experiences still in front of him and devastated the lives of those who knew him.
'Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.
'It has also drastically altered the path of the two people found guilty today – who are now facing the prospect of spending many of the prime years of their life behind bars.
'The tragic death of Thomas shows the ripple effect that choosing to carry a weapon can have not just on the person who carries one.'
Mr Stott added: 'It is a dangerous myth that carrying a knife offers protection or power, as in reality, it only increases the risk of serious harm – both to the person carrying it and to everyone around them.
'We urge anyone thinking of picking up a weapon – or supporting those who do – to think twice, and Just Drop It to help prevent more lives from being needlessly cut short or forever ruined.'
Two other teenagers were found not guilty of murder following the trial, and the jury was unable to reach a verdict on a fifth defendant.
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