The teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was handed a twelve-year prison sentence at the Old Bailey today (June 20).
A jury found him guilty of the manslaughter of 15-year-old Pharell Garcia following a trial at the same court, which concluded on February 7.
The Metropolitan Police were called to Stellman Close, E5, at 4.05pm on July 23, 2024, to reports of a stabbing.
Pharell was discovered and pronounced dead at the scene.
During the trial, the court heard how Pharell was once friends with the defendant before they had a falling out.
The court heard how the defendant, who was 15 at the time, stabbed Pharell in the heart and chased him until he collapsed, before fleeing and disposing of the weapon.
Jurors disagreed with the defendants account that he had stabbed the 15-year-old in self-defence.
Police arrested the 16-year-old at a friend’s house at 5.07am on July 24 last year.
Evidence collected during the investigation included CCTV showing the defendant entering the park before putting his hood up, and later chasing Pharell out of the park while still holding the knife.
He was seen disposing of the multi-tool, which was later forensically linked to both Pharell and the defendant.
On his phone, detectives uncovered Snapchat communications between the pair in the days leading up to the manslaughter, a long with 43 videos of the defendant playing with knives.
The most recent videos were dated from July 16 and 17.
The defendant was also found to have messaged his mum after the attack to say he could not come home, asking to go to Portugal and telling her to remove certain items from their home.
Det Chf Insp Kelly Allen said: “Our thoughts very much remain with Pharell’s family and friends, who had to re-live the last traumatic moments of his young life during the trial after the defendant failed to take responsibility for his actions.
“Somehow the defendant came to be in possession of a multi-tool, which he claimed in court was carried to the scene by the victim. The evidence we gathered disputed the defendant’s account that he grabbed the multi-tool and delivered a fatal blow to save his life. When the defendant became in possession of that weapon he had a choice.
“He could have walked away, he could’ve thrown the multi-tool to the floor. Instead, he chose to stab Pharell in the heart and then chased him, still armed with the knife, until he saw the victim collapse from his fatal injuries. Instead of rushing over to help his former friend, he fled the scene and tried to dispose of the evidence.
“Our investigation revealed that the defendant had a fascination with knives after we found 43 images and videos from 16 and 17 July alone of him playing with knives.”
Det Supt Brittany Clarke said: “Pharell’s death was first and foremost a devastating tragedy for his family and friends, but it also had considerable impact across our local communities.
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“While overall violence has been reducing in Hackney, tragic events such as this serve as a reminder that too many of our children and young people have to contend with the callous reality of knife crime.
“We continue to work night and day, with the council, local charities and wider partners to address both the root causes of knife crime and to deter people from carrying knives through police action.
“If any young person feels they need to carry a knife please speak to a parent, carer, teacher, youth leader or adult you trust and we can get you the support to step back from that decision safely.”
