Woman, man and boy found not guilty of murdering Wolverhampton father of seven Deavon Harrison
A woman, a man and a boy have been cleared of murdering a Wolverhampton father of seven - but a jury did find one of them guilty of his manslaughter.
The jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court had been deliberating since Monday morning and today cleared Deavon Harrison's girlfriend Kerry Francis, 42; Jonathan Williams, 19; and a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, of murder.
Despite Judge Barry Cotter warning the public gallery he "did not want to hear a reaction when the verdicts were given" there was uproar in court when the jury forewoman read out the verdicts.
Francis, of Foxglove Close, Wombourne, was cleared of murder, manslaughter and wounding with intent, and walked free from court today.
Williams, of no fixed address, was cleared of murder, found guilty of manslaughter, not guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life but guilty of possessing a blade.
The 16-year-old was found not guilty of murder, not guilty of manslaughter, guilty of wounding with intent to endanger life, not guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life but guilty of possessing a blade.
As the verdicts were read out blonde-haired Francis, who was wearing a chequered jacket and spectacles, fell to her knees and burst into tears. She immediately looked at her son in the public gallery who was separated by a bouncer from angry friends and family of Mr Harrison.
Mr Harrison, who was 46, was found dead at a Dunstall Hill address after suffering gunshot and knife wounds on December 30 this year.
Security guards and police officers entered the public gallery to remove members of Mr Harrison's family who were overcome with emotion at the verdict. His mother screamed at the 11 jurors: "You do not know what you have done here today, shame on you."
Other people began shouting and swearing at Francis in the dock. There were also screams of threats of retribution including "the streets will be on fire because of this".
One of the jurors shouted back but was reprimanded by Judge Cotter: "Do not enter into a dialogue please. Thank you for your service."
Judge Cotter told Francis: "You are free to leave the court."
He told the two teenagers: "I want to sentence you on the same day, there will need to be a pre-sentence report made on you [the 16-year-old], I will sentence you both on September 4."