Dea-John Reid: Boy 'hunted down' and murdered, court hears

CCTV of the moment Dea-John Reid was attacked was shown in court as the trial began

A 14-year-old boy was "hunted down" by a "pack" of two men and three teenagers in broad daylight, before he was stabbed, a trial has heard.

Dea-John Reid died in the Kingstanding area of Birmingham on 31 May 2021.

The victim was stabbed by one of the two 15-year-old defendants in front of multiple witnesses, Birmingham Crown Court was told.

But prosecutors claimed the five accused "acted collectively" during the attack.

The actions of George Khan, 39, and Michael Shields, 36, who are accused of being the two older members of the group were branded "a disgrace" by the prosecution.

Jurors heard the men and the teenagers, two aged 14 and one aged 16 at the time, behaved "like a pack, chasing down their prey".

The court was shown footage of the moment Dea-John was fatally knifed on College Road, which the prosecution said showed all five defendants chasing him before running away.

'Actively encouraged attack'

Prosecutor Richard Wormald QC said the Crown's case was all five were responsible for the murder, with the evidence inferring they all "must have intended to cause Dea-John serious harm".

Mr Wormald said the 15-year-old, who is alleged to have stabbed Dea-John in a "revenge attack" for events earlier in the day, had armed himself with a kitchen knife before Mr Khan allegedly drove all five to "hunt him down".

He told jurors Mr Khan "actively encouraged the attack" once Dea-John was found.

One witness, who had got off a bus outside a chip shop on College Road, reported seeing five people chasing a boy, shouting they were "going to get" him, Mr Wormald said.

The prosecutor said another witness had spoken of how he saw Dea-John "hold his stomach and collapse" after seeing two white males chase him.

Mr Shields, of Alvis Walk in Castle Bromwich, Mr Khan, of Newstead Road in Birmingham, and the three teenagers, who cannot be named because of their age, deny murder.

Hollie Davies, 36, of Waldon Walk, Birmingham, denies a charge of assisting an offender.

The trial continues.