A 15-year-old boy has been detained at His Majesty’s pleasure for murdering a shopper after a row in a supermarket toilet.
The youngster was convicted of the killing following a trial last month, where a jury heard how 53-year-old Ian Kirwan was knifed in the heart by the boy – then aged 14 - in a Redditch supermarket toilet.
Mr Kirwan was found critically injured after being knifed in front of horrified shoppers at the Asda store in Worcestershire, in March last year.
The 53-year-old, who worked as a software engineer for Jaguar Land Rover and left behind a dedicated wife, died at the scene despite the best efforts of medics and an off-duty nurse.
Jurors cleared three other youths – two aged 14 and one aged 16 – of murder and manslaughter but found them guilty of violent disorder at Birmingham Crown Court.
A fifth boy, aged 16, was acquitted of murder, manslaughter and violent disorder, having claimed he was not involved in the fatal confrontation and could not have predicted it. They all denied charges of murder, manslaughter and violent disorder.
The 15-year-old, who previously admitted possession of a knife, was found guilty of murder last month.
During the trial CCTV footage from the supermarket captured the confrontation outside.
Prosecutor Benjamin Aina KC stated the knife was out in view for up to 20 seconds as it passed from the 15-year-old's hands to the 14-year-old's.
The CCTV also showed Mr Kirwan kick out 'Karate-style' at one of the boys before the others 'surrounded' him, the court was told.
During the trial prosecutor Mr Aina told jurors: "About 7.15pm in the evening Ian Kirwan went into Asda and entered the customer toilets. When he did so he came into contact with a group of five young males who were messing about in the toilets.
"A little later he left the Asda store and some of these boys were outside. He challenged them 'why were you messing about in the toilet?', words to that effect, and a scuffle broke out.
"During that scuffle Ian Kirwan was stabbed once to his heart with a knife and he died before getting to the hospital. He was just 53-years-old at the time of his death."
Jurors convicted the youngster of the killing after hearing how 53-year-old Ian Kirwan was knifed in the heart by the youth - then aged 14 - acting as a part of a masked gang which "terrorised" members of the public in Redditch.
The killer, from Birmingham, travelled with a group of male friends by train to the Worcestershire town.
He claimed that in the fight outside he only wanted to 'scare' Mr Kirwan with the knife and 'forgot' he had it in his hand when he 'punched' him, the court heard.
Mr Kirwan's devastated family previously paid tribute to the "warmest and kindest" husband who had the "daftest sense of humour" and was a talented musician and animal lover.
The family said: "No one ever imagines losing someone in this terrible way, so senseless and needlessly.
"A hole has been created in our lives that can never be filled but the love and support we have received is helping us begin to try to find a way to work through this awful tragedy."
