Drug dealer jailed for killing 'rival' teenager

Elijah Clark, 20, admitted he had been selling drugs in Chelmsford since he had moved to the city from London

A drug dealer who stabbed and killed a teenager for "selling on his patch" has been jailed for 13 years.

Andy Wood, 16, suffered "uncontrollable bleeding" after he was knifed in the neck on 12 February last year.

Elijah Clark had met with the rival drug dealer to buy cannabis in Chelmsford, but stabbed him when a scuffle broke out.

The 20-year-old, of Gloucester Avenue, Chelmsford, was convicted of manslaughter in May.

Clark was also found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after a friend of Mr Wood was hurt during the altercation.

Andy Wood was described during the trial as a "bit of a hippy who loved skateboarding"

In a statement, Mr Wood's family said he was a "fantastic human being" who "did not deserve to be taken away so soon".

He had agreed to sell drugs to Clark shortly before midnight on 12 February 2023 when the incident happened.

Clark, who was wearing a balaclava, met his victim in a wooded area of a park in Waterson Vale.

Giving evidence during his four-week trial, the defendant said Mr Wood and another man attacked him with knives and he acted in self-defence having taken a blade from Mr Wood.

"I put the knife in the direction of Andy and I felt it connect and the other male ran off and so I ran away," he told the court.

The "military-style knife" had never been subsequently found, prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC said.

Mr Wood's death was "completely avoidable", police said

He told the jury that Clark murdered Mr Wood, who was from Braintree, as he wanted to "demonstrate his authority" and saw him as an "interloper" encroaching on his patch.

The jury cleared Clark of murder and of having a bladed article in public after almost 19 hours of deliberations.

Speaking after sentencing, Det Ch Insp Louise Metcalfe, of Essex Police, commended the "strength" of Mr Wood's family.

“Andy’s death was completely avoidable and devastating for his family and those who loved him," she said.