Teenager guilty of killing school pupil Bailey Gwynne, 16, during fight

A teenager has been found guilty of killing a school pupil he stabbed during a fight.

Bailey Gwynne, 16, died from a knife wound to the chest at Cults Academy in Aberdeen on October 28 last year.

A 16-year-old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of culpable homicide after a jury ruled against a charge of murder at the city's High Court.

The youth had admitted stabbing Bailey but denied murder during the five-day trial.

During evidence, it emerged Bailey had a major loss of blood after suffering a single fatal stab wound to the heart during a fight.

The court heard that on the day he was stabbed, Bailey had missed out on a lunchtime trip to the local supermarket as his friends forgot to tell him about the plan.

He was in a corridor with a group of boys and, after refusing a second biscuit to one, made a remark about him getting fatter.

Accounts of the fight differed between witnesses but the jury heard that Bailey, who was on his way out of the corridor, turned round and squared up to the accused after he made a comment about his mother.

They both were said to have thrown punches and two onlookers said Bailey had him in a headlock before he pulled out a knife.

A witness said of Bailey's reaction: "I found it really shocking - he's really shy and he's known not to fight back."

Head teacher Anna Muirhead, who was alerted to the fight after an ambulance had been called, said: "I knew immediately it was very, very serious."

A post-mortem examination revealed he died as the result of a "penetrating stab-force injury to the chest" which went directly into the heart. Pathologists described the wound as "exceptionally dangerous".

The teenager who carried out the stabbing told police as he was handcuffed "it was just a moment of anger".

He later told officers: "I didn't mean to but I stabbed him."

The trial also heard that a laptop used by the teenager had revealed an internet search for "how to get rid of someone annoying".

The search term "difference between a homicide and a murder" was also noted, as was a web address relating to a YouTube video with the title "14-year-old Bronx student stabs bully to death outside school".

The jury heard how earlier from a friend of the accused that he had shown him a knife a day or two before the fatal incident and "thought it was something cool to have".

Emotions were high during the trial which saw a teenage witness break down as he gave details of the fight and the accused himself started crying when the jury heard how he was handcuffed by police who attended the school.