St Leonards teen jailed for Connor Ansell stab death

Connor Ansell, 16, died six days after being stabbed in St Leonards last November.

A 17-year-old boy has been jailed for nine years for the manslaughter of a teenager stabbed in the street.

Connor Ansell, 16, was stabbed in Old Church Road, St Leonards, East Sussex, last November and died six days later.

His killer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denied murder but was found guilty of manslaughter at Hove Crown Court.

Jack Cunnion, 18, of Essex Road, St Leonards, who was also charged with murder, was found not guilty.

The court heard Connor was critically injured with a hunting-style knife with a 25cm (9.8in) blade on 18 November 2017.

He had set out to meet a friend in the town but was involved in an altercation with the teenage boy, who was known to him, and sustained a deep stab wound to his side.

Mr Cunnion had been with the killer and both fled the scene.

Connor Ansell was stabbed in his side by the teenager armed with a hunting-style knife

The knife used in the attack and clothing belonging to both suspects, which they were wearing at the time of the incident, were discovered in a bin outside a house where they had run to immediately afterwards.

Connor, who was a pupil at St Leonards Academy, was taken to hospital for surgery but died on 24 November.

In a statement following the sentencing on Friday, his mother Michelle Hitchman said: "The death of my son has caused much heartache and self-destruction, not just to myself but to everyone who knew him.

"Connor was a loveable rogue and a free spirit. He was loving and caring and he would do anything for anyone.

"Our hearts will forever be broken and I will forever mourn the loss of my son."