A 17-year-old boy died shortly after being stabbed in the chest in Queen’s Road, close to Brighton railway station, a jury was tod this morning (Tuesday 20 February).
Mustafa Momand ran for his life, “with blood squirting from his wound,” said Nathan Rasiah, prosecuting.
A 16-year-old boy, from Southwick, who cannot be named for legal reasons, confronted Mustafa over a drug debt of up to £20,000, the jury was told at Brighton Crown Court.
Mr Rasiah told the court: “The defendant pulled his knife out and attacked Mustafa, stabbing him in the chest, using a level of force so severe that the knife penetrated through the breast bone.
“As is often the case, in the seconds before the severity of the injury took hold, Mustafa was able to run. He ran across the road in front of traffic and up the street.
“The defendant chased after him, still brandishing the knife, shouting things such as ‘get back here’ and ‘stop’, calling Mustafa ‘fucking pussy’ (and) ‘fucking idiot’ and saying, ‘I’m going to fucking get you’ (and) ‘fuck you up’.
“The truth is that he had already inflicted a fatal injury on Mustafa.”
Mr Rasiah said: “Mustafa managed to run for 150 metres before he staggered and collapsed.
“The blood from his wound was squirting out as he ran, leaving a trail on the ground, and witnesses saw him spitting a large amount of blood as he ran.
“A passer-by knelt by him to help, soon joined by medics from a nearby GP surgery, and they began emergency first aid.
“But by the time an ambulance arrived, minutes later, he was not responsive and in cardiac arrest.
“Meanwhile, as Mustafa collapsed, witnesses saw the defendant stop running, turn around, put his hood up, tuck his knife into the waistband of his trousers and walk away back down Queen’s Road and then off a side road.
“Someone took photos of him on a mobile phone, and the defendant shouted at him: ‘Take photos of me and fucking arrest me. What are you going to do about it?’
“Those photographs were provided to police and circulated as suspected of attempted murder.
“At around 6.45pm, a nearby police unit identified the defendant as matching the description of the suspect and he was arrested for attempted murder and transported to Hollingbury custody suite.
“In that time, Mustafa had been rushed to hospital where over the course of an hour doctors performed emergency surgery in an effort to save his life. Despite their efforts he was pronounced dead.
“When the defendant arrived at Hollingbury, officers had received the news that Mustafa Momand had died and so they further arrested the defendant on suspicion of murder.
“The defendant smiled and said: ‘It shouldn’t have been an AM (attempted murder). Should have been a murder.’
“He was interviewed three times over the following three days and was asked whether he was involved in the killing, what he intended and why? And in relation to all of those basic and central questions, he answered no comment.”
The trial continues.
