Mikey Roynon murder trial: Defence begins summing up

Mikey Roynon, pictured with his mum, died from a single stab wound at a party in Bath

Three boys charged with murdering a teenager at a house party were acting in self-defence, lawyers have argued as their trial comes to an end.

Mikey Roynon, 16, from Bristol, died after being attacked with a large zombie knife in Bath on 10 June 2023.

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

Their defence, while summing up at Bristol Crown Court, said the violence broke out after they were confronted by a group of armed teens at the party.

During the trial all three defendants chose to not give evidence and instead produced written statements.

Defence counsel Raymond Tully KC said that in Boy A's statement, he admitted fatally stabbing Mikey in the neck.

"He admits he killed Mikey, he admits he wielded that knife and stabbed Mikey, but he says he did that in self-defence," Mr Tully told jurors.

"We hope that you will reflect on the fact that Boy A says he faced a situation where there was a large group of Bristol boys armed with large knives.

"Boy A is entitled to be found not guilty if he was acting in self-defence."

During summing up for the prosecution on Thursday, Christopher Quinlan KC said the fact that Mikey had been stabbed in the back of the neck meant jurors "must consider that the location of the wound would be a very unlikely location for self-defence".

But Mr Tulley said the pathologist who examined Mikey's body suggested his neck could have been moving.

This, the defence barrister said, would make it "hard to prove what movement the body was making at the time".

The jury also heard the defence for Boy B. Mrs Anna Vigars KC said he had felt threatened at the party because "boys from Bristol" were carrying knives.

She asked the jury if they could rule out that he got a knife to defend himself.

'Not enough to prove murder'

Both Boy A and Boy B have admitted possessing knives but Boy C has denied having one.

"If you are sure he [Boy B] had the knife unsheathed, you have to think about the situation he was facing - with a large group of Bristol boys with big knives, you would defend yourself, wouldn't you?" she asked.

Mrs Vyers also said there was no evidence Boy B had encouraged or assisted Boy A in stabbing Mikey, as alleged by the prosecution.

She said there was only evidence that he had a knife in his hand "and that is not enough to prove that he is guilty of murder".

"The only correct verdict is to find Boy B not guilty of murder or manslaughter."

The defence will resume on Monday when the jury will hear closing remarks from Mohammed Nawaz KC for Boy C.

The trial at Bristol Crown Court continues.