Derrick Kinyua murder: Luton boy, 17, found guilty

Derrick Kinyua was stabbed in Crescent Road earlier this year

A boy has been found guilty of murdering another teenager in what prosecutors said was a lethal assault.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons because of his age, was convicted at Luton Crown Court.

Derrick Kinyua, 19, was attacked outside an address he was staying at in Crescent Road in the town on 14 April.

Two other defendants were found not guilty of murder. A fourth suspect is believed to have fled the country shortly after the stabbing.

Derrick Kinyua collapsed at the junction of Hitchin Road and Hucklesby Way, near Luton railway station

The 17-year-old defendant was seen on CCTV carrying a large knife and lunging at the victim at about 20:18 BST that night, inflicting several stab wounds.

Mr Kinyua made his way onto the interchange with Hucklesby Way and Hitchin Road before collapsing.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as stab wounds to both the neck and chest.

The 17-year-old boy was arrested about a week later.

The two others who were at the scene, Malcolm Mangawa, 23, of Luton, and Shakeel Morton, 20, of Luton, were found not guilty of murder by the jury.

Sentencing is due to take place later this month.

Det Insp Iain MacPherson, of the Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, who led the investigation, said: "This was an incredibly violent, calculated, and abhorrent crime, which has not only seen a young man lose his life, but left another teenager facing life behind bars.

He added: "Knife crime remains an area of concern and priority across the country, but more locally we have all too recently seen mindless violence claim another young life in Luton."