Khayri Mclean: Huddersfield boy died from stab wound to chest, court told

Khayri Mclean died after he was stabbed near North Huddersfield Trust School in September 2022

A 15-year-old boy who was fatally attacked near his school died from a stab wound to his chest, a court has heard.

Khayri Mclean died in a "well-planned and targeted" knifing outside North Huddersfield Trust School on 21 September, Leeds Crown Court was told.

Pathologist Dr Christopher Johnson said the blade had passed through Khayri's lungs and pierced his heart.

A 15-year-old male admits his murder, while a 17-year-old male denies it.

Dr Johnson told the jury that the blade had gone about 14cm into Khayri's chest and had "essentially stopped inside his heart".

When asked why Khayri was able to get back on his feet and run away after the stabbing, the pathologist said the nature of the injury meant death "wouldn't be immediate".

However, he added it was "inevitable" as the boy would eventually have collapsed due to the stab wound.

The doctor detailed how the 15-year-old had also suffered a second stab wound to the leg, but that injury played no role in his death.

Jurors were told that after the stabbing, Khayri was taken to Leeds General Infirmary where he underwent an emergency operation, but he died at about 17:15 GMT.

Prosecutor George Hazel-Owram said four days after his death, the defendant was charged with murder and possessing a bladed article and had since pleaded guilty to the latter offence.

The court had previously heard how Khayri had been walking up Woodhouse Hill in Huddersfield after school with a group of friends when he was attacked by two youths "dressed head to toe in black" and wearing balaclavas.

Although the older teenager did not inflict the fatal blow, he was guilty of murder because he acted with his co-accused and they "encouraged and supported each other to carry out the attack", prosecutors have said.

The trial continues.