Man convicted of jealousy-fuelled prom night murder

Sharp-Meade stabbed Kajetan Migdal during an "irrationally jealous" rage

A man has been found guilty of murdering a teenager in an "unprovoked" attack on the night of the victim's school prom.

Kajetan Migdal, 18, died after being stabbed on Cutty's Lane in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, on 27 May 2022, after he had been at the Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School event.

Patrick Sharp-Meade, now 20, mistakenly believed the teenager and three friends had spoken to his ex-girlfriend.

Sharp-Meade, of Cutty's Lane, admitted the killing but denied murder, claiming he suffered "neurodevelopmental disorders" that affected his behaviour. A jury at Luton Crown Court rejected the defence case and convicted him of murder.

Kajetan Migdal was stabbed in the heart after attending his prom in Stevenage

Reading a statement outside court, Mr Migdal's grandmother, Lorna Buckland, described her grandson as a "pacifist who hated violence".

"[He] was the life and soul of our family – the beating heart," she said.

"Our utterly innocent, unique, talented and widely cherished boy’s contribution to the world has been far greater than he will ever know.

"The vacuum that has been left behind is enormous and we are all forever changed by losing him," she added.

Ms Buckland thanked the police for helping bring her grandson's killer to justice

The trial heard how the group of friends had attended their school prom at the Holiday Inn.

They returned to Mr Migdal's car - parked on Sharp-Meade's street - where they intended to change before heading to an after-party in Cambridge.

Prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff KC told the court: "They were approached by the defendant who was armed with a large zombie-style knife. He had it concealed down his tracksuit trousers."

She said the friends had backed away but Mr Migdal had not finished changing and "momentarily stood his ground".

The defendant approached and stabbed him in the chest, the jury heard.

He was rushed to Stevenage's Lister hospital, where he died in the early hours of the morning.

The teenager was stabbed on 27 May 2022 at 23:20

The jury was told that on the night of the stabbing the defendant's ex-girlfriend was heading to Sharp-Meade's flat to collect a fur hood. As she walked past the group she was talking to a friend on her mobile.

The defendant, who was in the flat with the person taking the call, heard the conversation and could hear the four teenagers talking in the background.

The prosecutor said: "As a result of hearing them in the background, he became irrationally jealous.

"The defendant armed himself with a knife. Once the ex-girlfriend arrived he threw her hood at her. He put on a balaclava and speed-walked to find and confront those who he wrongly thought had engaged with her."

Kajetan Migdal was with a group of friends when they were approached by Sharp-Meade

Det Insp Justine Jenkins, from Hertfordshire Police, said: "This was a senseless act of violence, which resulted in a young man being killed in cold blood because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, by an enraged teenager who imagined a situation that simply did not exist."

Talented dancer

Mr Kajetan had appeared on BBC TV's Greatest Dancer.

He was a member of a dance group called Prospects Fraternity, and had also won first place in an under-14 category of the World Street Dancing Championships in 2017.

When the murder verdict was delivered, his family and friends, seated in the public gallery, gasped before crying and hugging.

Sharp-Meade will be sentenced on 17 May.

Judge John Hillen told him: "The jury has convicted you of murder. The only sentence I can pass is life, but I have to set a minimum terms."