Mikey Roynon: Prosecution summing up in murder trial

Mikey Roynon died from a single stab wound at a party in Bath

The prosecution has begun summing up in the trial of three boys charged with murder after a teenager was fatally stabbed in the neck.

Mikey Roynon, 16, from Kingswood in Bristol, was stabbed with a large zombie knife during an argument at a house party in Bath on 10 June.

The three boys on trial - who cannot be named for legal reasons - deny murder.

Boy A, who inflicted the fatal wound, told the court that he was acting in self-defence.

After initially denying everything, boy A and boy B now admit possessing knives - something which boy C still denies.

But Christopher Quinlan KC, prosecuting, said he did not genuinely believe that boy A had to defend himself, as he did not explain the circumstances in which he came to inflict the injury.

'Lies and silence'

"They [the defendants] made themselves scarce, discarded and hid evidence, they lied, they met questions with silence, it is a wretched mix of lies and silence," he said.

"They are responsible but have chosen to hide in plain sight. They ran into the night and tried to stay there."

All three defendants chose to not give evidence to the court.

The prosecution added: "If you act in lawful self-defence, you'd say so wouldn't you?

"If you had an account that stands up to questioning, everyone is treated appropriately by barristers, you'd give it."

The prosecution also told jurors that they must consider that the location of Mikey's wound in the back of his neck would be a very unlikely location for self-defence.

One witness, who also cannot be named, previously told the court that they saw Mikey swing a knife first, "like a Star Wars character".

But when they were pressed, the witness said they were only "60%" sure that it was Mikey.

One of the defendants, the boy who the knife had been swung at, told police in a statement that Mikey did not swing a knife at him.

"Another person can play an active part by causing or assisting in the act, like by providing back up to others if needed," the prosecution said.

"We say Boy B and Boy C played their parts, they were armed, they had their knives out unsheathed and on display, thereby encouraging and participating, we say, in the unlawful stabbing of Mikey."

The trial continues.