Mother of murder victim urges end to knife crime as teenagers convicted

The mother of a 17-year-old boy killed in a stabbing attack has made an emotional plea to end knife crime as five teenagers were convicted of his murder.

The gang were found guilty of the murder of 17-year-old Kyle Yule who died in hospital after he was stabbed five times in East Street, Gillingham, Kent, on October 6 2017.

Victor Maibvisira, 19, of St Johns Road, Gillingham, was convicted at Maidstone Crown Court over the killing along with three 17-year-olds, Ephrain Akinwunmi-Streets, from Sittingbourne, Shezakia Daley, from Gillingham, and Tyler Ralph, from Hertfordshire, and 16-year-old Jordan Dania, from Croydon.

The judge lifted reporting restrictions allowing the four juveniles to be named because of the seriousness of the offences, according to Kent Police.

Kyle’s mother Nikki Yule, said in a statement released through police: “Words cannot express the devastating loss of my precious son Kyle. His death has broken my heart and my children are broken without their big brother.

She added: “I hope the outcome today will help send out a very strong message to all young people, that knife crime cannot and will not be tolerated in any way, shape or form. No one should feel the need to carry knives. People’s lives can be lost so quickly and needlessly, just look at what happened to my Kyle.”

A Kent Police spokesman said: “During the nine-week trial the jury heard from witnesses who said the trouble between the group and Kyle’s friends started after a push bike was stolen and Maibvisira threatened a young boy who he believed was responsible. Kyle’s friends had tried to stop the boy from being hurt.

Detective Chief Inspector Ivan Beasley said: “These were two separate groups of former friends who fell out over something as small as a push bike and the defendants’ response was to attack a young man with knives.”

Describing the fatal incident, the force spokesman said “Kyle was sitting alone in a silver Renault Clio when it was surrounded. The windows were smashed and one of the tyres was slashed.

“Kyle managed to get out of the car and ran to a friend’s address nearby, however as he was banging on the front door and before he could get to safety, he was stabbed five times.

One stab wound in his right armpit caused an arterial bleed and he died later in a local hospital.”

The five defendants will be sentenced on Thursday June 14.