A teenager who fatally stabbed a former friend during a knife fight in Hamstead has today (Friday 10 December) been convicted of murder. Cameron Cheshire inflicted the fatal injury on 19-year-old Jack Barry on 7 March this year. It appears to have been a chance meeting between 18-year-old Cheshire, Mr Barry and some of their friends on West Road, Hamstead in Sandwell. However, the pair were both armed with knives and evidence suggests they attacked each other and Jack sustained a fatal injury.
Cheshire – who himself was stabbed – was arrested shortly afterwards. From the start he lied to us including that Mr Barry inflicted his own injury, that he was only defending himself, and only found his knife by chance after remembering someone he wasn’t prepared to name had left one in the street. Cheshire, formerly of West Road in Hamstead, Sandwell was found guilty of murder and possession of a bladed article following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court. He will be sentenced next Friday (17 December). Cheshire and Jack had previously been friends but had fallen out.
Detective Inspector Hannah Whitehouse, from our Homicide Unit, said: “This is a very sad reminder of the life-changing impact of carrying knives. “A family has lost a loved one at a young age and another young man will now spend many years behind bars.
“The evidence suggests both men were armed with knives that night and it was Cheshire who landed the fatal blow. Knowing you’ve killed someone is a heavy burden on your conscience forever. “Nobody should lose their life like this, and the case reinforces the very real dangers of being armed with a knife. “One young person tragically died that night and it could have been two. When used in the heat of the moment, knives can destroy lives.” No matter where you live in the West Midlands, knife crime is an issue which affects us all. We are playing our part in tackling knife crime, from operational activity aimed at reducing the number of knives on our streets to educational inputs.
