Teen played video games after stabbing, trial told

A trial has opened after Jahziah Coke died last summer

A teenager accused of stabbing a 13-year-old boy to death fled over fences and then caught a bus to a friend's house to play video games, a jury has heard.

Jahziah Coke was found dead in the hallway of a house in Oldbury, near Birmingham, by paramedics responding to a 999 call on 29 August, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murder and manslaughter.

The court earlier heard that charges against a second teenager due to stand trial for murder on Friday were dropped after the prosecution offered no evidence.

A man in his 40s, who too cannot be named, additionally stands trial, and denies assisting an offender.

Jahziah had suffered three wounds, the court heard. The most serious, to his chest, had penetrated to a depth of 15cm and had nearly cut through a rib.

Kevin Hegarty KC, prosecuting, said emergency responders could not save him and his heart had stopped.

Jurors heard that according to the accused teenager, there had been a row, that Jahziah had produced a knife and that Jahziah had been fatally wounded during a struggle as the other boy tried to defend himself.

Emergency teams found Jahziah lying in the hall of a house

Mr Hegarty said Jahziah was bleeding heavily when a 999 call was made and that he had three wounds to his torso "caused by one or more sharp knives".

The prosecutor said paramedics went into the house through a side door, into the kitchen and into the hall where they found Jahziah who was "the only person in the house".

The court was told the accused defendant and another boy made their way over a fence behind the property moments before paramedics arrived, before scaling other fences and catching a bus.

Mr Hegarty said police searched the property and recovered knives but they did not have blood on them.

"Either the traces of blood had been washed off or the knives were taken away," he said.

Jurors heard the pair who were said to have scaled fences went to a friend's flat hours later where they "hung out" for about three hours, playing on a PlayStation and chatting.

That friend told police that when it emerged on Snapchat Jahziah was dead, the defendant became emotional, Mr Hegarty said.

Jahziah had suffered three wounds, the court heard

The prosecutor told jurors: "[The defendant] said there had been a row and that Jahziah had got his knife and he told them that there had been a struggle - and during that struggle Jahziah was trying to stab him.

"But he grabbed his hand, twisted it away from him and Jahziah then dropped to the floor.

"He said he did not know that Jahziah had got stabbed. Neither did he explain how there were two penetrating stab wounds.

"He then claimed that it was all an accident and it shouldn't have happened."

Mr Hegarty said: "It is the prosecution case that when he inflicted the wounds on Jahziah... that when he did so he was acting unlawfully and intended to kill Jahziah or at the very least cause him really serious harm."

The trial continues.