Tomasz Oleszak murder: Leighton Amies, 15, guilty of killing 14-year-old

Leighton Amies shouted "I've wetted your boy" to youths after he plunged a steak knife into Tomasz Oleszak's chest

A teenager has been found guilty of murdering a 14-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in Gateshead.

Tomasz Oleszak suffered an 8cm-deep wound to his chest when he was attacked in October and died the next day.

Leighton Amies, who is 15 but was 14 at the time, claimed he stabbed Tomasz by accident during an attack by a gang.

A jury at Newcastle Crown Court found him guilty of murder and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to another boy whose coat was slashed.

The killer, who did not know Tomasz and lived in a different part of Tyneside, said he took a serrated steak knife out with him on the spur of the moment on 3 October.

'If you carry a knife, you're weak'

He had gone to the Springwell area to meet a 14-year-old girl and had been walking her home through Whitehills Nature Park when she alerted him to a group of youths following them.

Amies said he pulled the knife out after being punched, kicked and grappled to the ground, but prosecutors said his claim of being attacked was a lie.

After landing the fatal blow, the killer shouted to the gang: "I've wetted your boy", the court heard.

Mark McKone KC, prosecuting, told jurors: "He wanted them to know he had stabbed one of their number. It was a boast."

Tomasz was a keen footballer

Mr McKone said the group was not "blameless" as they had discussed hitting Amies, but he was the "aggressor" and the only injury he suffered was a minor one to his thumb.

Peter Makepeace KC, defending, said his client had been "flailing out indiscriminately in an act of self-defence".

Jurors heard Amies hid the knife in a bush and then messaged a friend saying he would have it "melted".

In a statement previously released through police, Tomasz's mother Kamila said she, his father Patryk, and Tomasz's six-year-old brother were "devastated beyond words" by his killing.

She said: "Tomasz was an amazing son, a kind and caring role model to his little brother and a great friend to so many."

Amies is due to be sentenced in June.

He can now be identified after the judge, Mr Justice Martin Spencer, lifted an anonymity order.

Mr Spencer said the public interest in knowing Amies' identity outweighed his interest in remaining anonymous, adding he hoped the case would act as a deterrent to other young people carrying knives and committing such "tragic and appalling" crimes.

Tomasz and his family moved to the UK from Poland in 2012

Det Insp Chris Deavin, of Northumbria Police, described Tomasz's death as a "truly tragic case".

He said: "Tomasz had his whole life ahead of him, he was a promising footballer and a popular pupil at his school.

"We want to send an unequivocal message to anyone who chooses to carry a weapon of any kind or believes that violence is acceptable - the consequences can be devastating.

"Look at the pain this tragedy has caused - not only could you take away someone else's future and destroy the lives of their loved ones, but also ruin your own and those of your family and friends."