08-05-2025
Boy, 14, detained for five years after stabbing gang rival to death after a 'falling out' over £50
A schoolboy who killed a fellow teenager in a row over £50 has been locked up for five years.
The 14-year-old stabbed Kory McCrimmon, 16, in the heart after a confrontation in Glasgow last May.
They were associated with rival gangs and had earlier exchanged threats on social media.
The boy - who was 13 at the time and cannot be named due to his age - yesterday returned to the High Court in Glasgow.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide while acting under provocation.
Sentencing, Lord Mulholland repeated his previous comment that the killing which stemmed from a gang fight was 'utter madness'.
The attacker will remain in Kibble Secure Unit in Paisley, Renfrewshire.
A large group of Kory's family and friends were at court yesterday. Several youngsters wore hoodies with a photo of the teenager on it.
One relative in the courtroom yelled 'monster' at the young killer as he left the dock.
The court heard in March that before the attack social work had been involved because the 14-year-old had not been attending school.
Kory - who had played for Easterhouse Football Academy - had no previous convictions.
But he and his killer were known as 'rivals' from different parts of the city.
They had been regularly in touch on Instagram and were initially on 'good terms' before a 'falling out' over £50.
The court heard the killer refused to pay the older boy back.
Prosecutor Greg Farrell said: 'The messages became increasingly acrimonious.
'There were insults and threats of violence made by both parties to one another.
'The accused repeatedly threatened to 'chop up' Kory and to kill him.
'Kory McCrimmon, in response, threatened to have him shot.
'Both issued these threats of violence in context of being in rival gangs.'
Although at one point it appeared the row could be resolved, a social media site used by different gang members revealed further threats by the killer.
Mr Farrell said that during the chat the two sides arranged to meet in the city's Greenfield Park, in the east end, for a confrontation.
He added: 'There is a significant amount of bravado and posturing on both sides in the build up to the confrontation being planned.
'The participants to this chat appear to be egging each other on in anticipation of a gang fight later that day.'
A large crowd gathered at the park on May 31 with the killer part of a gang who stormed in wielding batons, bats and bladed weapons.
They challenged Kory and his friends to a fight but the teenager fled when he spotted his attacker had a knife.
Mr Farrell told the court that during the confrontation Kory was stabbed once in the chest.
He was taken to the city's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he died on June Scullion KC, for the 14-year-old, yesterday said the case represented 'a tragic waste of human life'.
He said the schoolboy had 'insight to the devastating consequences' his actions had caused.
The advocate added: 'He now presents as a child carrying the burden of Kory McCrimmon's death, as he should.'
He further stated the boy had 'gone off the rails' before the killing following the death of his father.
Mr Scullion said it appeared there was 'cautious optimism for change' in the teenager since he has been in Kibble.
Lord Mulholland told the court he had taken into consideration the guidelines for the sentencing for young people.
He cut the term from seven and a half years due to the guilty plea.
The judge: 'Social media can be a force for good, but in the lead up to this, it was not as it was used as a means for threats of violence culminating in the gang fight at Greenfield Park.
'I described this previously as utter madness and I stand by that.
'You have devastated many lives as a result of what you did.'
