Teenager guilty of murdering 16-year-old boy

A teenager has been found guilty of murdering a 16-year-old boy by stabbing him with a ninja-style sword bought from the internet.

A 17-year-old, who cannot be named due to his age, stabbed Rahaan Ahmed Amin in the chest as he chatted to friends in an east London park last summer.

Following a three week trial at the Old Bailey, he was found guilty of murdering Rahaan, who died in hospital the following day.

Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon KC told the court the defendant had cycled into West Ham Park with his face covered and produced a long red knife before attacking Rahaan and making his escape.

One witness described seeing Rahaan and his attacker standing “toe to toe” before the knife was used, while another witness said he saw a boy coming towards him with his hands over his chest shouting “save me, save me please”.

Paramedics were called to the scene and Rahaan was taken to hospital, but “nothing could be done” to prevent his death, said the prosecutor.

Snapchat photo of knives

A police investigation later recovered the knife used in the killing from a tree in the park, where it was found hanging.

The knife was covered in the defendant’s fingerprint, DNA as well as Rahaan’s blood.

Police also discovered a Snapchat photograph, which showed a collection of nine knives lined up on a bed at the defendant’s home – one of which matched the one found in the park.

The court heard it was identical to a knife ordered on the internet through an online shop just weeks before the killing on 12 June.

That order, along with two similar orders, had been placed using the passport of the father of a friend of the defendant, who told police he had no knowledge of the purchase, the court heard.

The last of the three orders had the defendant’s home given as the delivery address.

The trial heard the trigger for the attack on Rahaan appeared to be an incident in March 2023 after tensions developed between the defendant and Rahaan’s group of friends.

A friend of the defendant had been stabbed and Rahaan was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the case, the court was told.

Snapchat conversations between the defendant and his friends suggested they “wanted to do harm” to Rahaan in retaliation for this alleged attack, said prosecutor Ms Lumsdon KC.

Giving evidence, the defendant claimed he was acting in self-defence when he used the knife.

Sentencing was adjourned until 6 September for reports.