'Unbelievably tragic!' Detective who led investigation into Zane Smart's killing highlights dangers of carrying knives
The family of 15-year-old Zane Smart have got “some sense of justice” after his teenager killer was found guilty of manslaughter, the detective leading the case has said.
Detective Inspector Hannah Whitehouse spoke as a 17-year-old boy was found guilty of Zane’s manslaughter in Pendeford last May and after meeting for a pre-arranged fight last May.
She told the Express & Star said: “We hoped for a murder conviction but we respect the verdict of the jury. I’m pleased they found him guilty of killing Zane.
“I think that will give some sense of justice to the family who are grieving the loss of a boy who was loved. I’m grateful to the jury for the consideration that they’ve given to the evidence in this case, which was difficult. It is a difficult thing we ask of juries in any case to consider some of the evidence that they do, but in a homicide case, in particular, the evidence that we ask them to look at is extremely difficult.
“And in this case, we’re talking about a juvenile defendant. The jury no doubt will have given all of it a great deal of thought so obviously, as an organisation the West Midlands Police will respect the verdict of that jury.”
The prosecution argued the killer turned up armed with a knife to injure Zane, however, the jury heard the defendant was injured in the fight and it was one single stab wound which proved fatal.
Det Insp Whitehouse said: “We believe there was an agreement between the two to meet up by the canal away from any adults or teachers to sort out their differences.
“This is another case where the victim was also carrying a knife. This is about the danger of knives. The defendant had very minor injuries but injuries nonetheless. And Zane had one stab wound which was fatal.
“We believe that those injuries were inflicted deliberately. So whilst both parties may have an agreement to go and sort out their differences, both parties had knives and the intention to cause serious harm, which was the prosecution case. The defendant would argue that he acted in self defence but he went there to cause harm.”
Det Insp Whitehouse explained the entire case centred around schoolboys carrying around knives routinely.
She said: “So no matter the size of the knife, no matter the type of knife, it can cause a fatal injury with one blow like in this case, the implications of carrying a knife for young people are extreme, from being injured themselves, even by their own knife.
“One knife injury can be fatal as we’ve seen in this case, and we’ve seen in other cases before, so the results of carrying a knife no matter whether or not you intend to use it or the extent to which you use it can be fatal.
“When youngsters feel the need to carry knives, this can easily happen. It’s unbelievably tragic. For the family of Zane Smart. They’re deeply grieving for a much-loved son.”
The officer praised the local Wolverhampton community for the response to the killing.
She said: “Several people tried to help Zane before the emergency services got there and delivered first aid which must have been very traumatic. And we had teenagers come forward and give evidence which was very brave.”
A team of 16 detectives from the West Midlands Police Homicide Team 5 worked on the case with help from other officers at the start of the investigation to trawl through thousands of hours of CCTV to piece together the tragic events of May 27.
Detectives worked with local schools and as both the defendant and victim were children, specially trained officers conducted interviews with the juveniles.
She said: “Dealing with an investigation with children has its own challenges, they have not even begun to live their life properly, applied for a driving licence or anything but are using knives which have the power of life and death.”
Det Insp Whitehouse had a message for anyone who notices a youngster is carrying a knife.
She said: “I would just encourage everybody who has any influence over a young person to have honest conversations with them about what they’re carrying with them and the consequences of that.
“And if young people know of people who routinely carry knives they should speak to an adult who they trust and share that information so we can try and take action to prevent people carrying knives or at the very least prevent the consequences like this, which has seen a family having to deal with the devastating loss of a young life.”
