A teenager who stabbed a schoolmate in a row over biscuits has been found guilty of culpable homicide. The 16-year-old, who for legal reasons cannot be named, denied murdering Bailey Gwynne at Aberdeen’s Cults Academy in October last year, but was found guilty of the lesser charge in the High Court.IT TOOK the jury at the High Court in Aberdeen less than two hours to reach its verdict.
Jurors also found the teenager guilty of possession of a knife and knuckledusters in school, something he had also denied.
Sobbing was heard in the court after the verdict was delivered.
Following the result, Gayle Gorman, director of education and children’s services at Aberdeen City Council, said: “There are no words which can sum up for us the emotional impact of what happened last year and it is still hard to make any sense of Bailey’s death.
“At the heart of this were two children and there can be no greater tragedy than the untimely death of a young person.
“Bailey Gwynne should never have died in this way. He was a 16-year-old boy with his whole life in front of him. We will not forget him. The trial may have ended but for those involved the process of moving forward now begins. We will try and do that, while all the time remembering Bailey as one of us.”
In a five-day trial, jurors heard how a lunchtime altercation began after Gwynne refused to give the boy a second biscuit.
Accounts of the exchange differed between witnesses but the court was told Gwynne made a remark about the boy’s weight.
Gwynne was leaving the corridor when he turned and squared up to the accused following a comment about his mother’s size.
Both boys are said to have thrown punches and Gwynne had the other boy in a headlock before the knife was produced.
The victim suffered a stab wound to the heart and, according to advocate depute Alex Prentice QC, had “no chance” – dying as a result of “a silly, trivial fight between schoolboys”.
Ian Duguid QC, defending, said the incident lasted around 30 seconds and Gwynne had shown “recklessness” in assaulting a fellow pupil, while the accused demonstrated “extraordinary stupidity”.
Witnesses also claimed that the accused had taken a knife and knuckleduster to school on numerous occasions and, two days before the fatal stabbing, thought a blade was “something cool to have”.
The court was also told the internet search history on a laptop used by the teenager included entries on the “difference between a homicide and a murder” and “how to get rid of someone annoying”.
An address for a YouTube video with the title “14-year-old Bronx student stabs bully to death outside school” was also noted.
During evidence, PC Christopher Masson said the accused was distressed when handcuffed, asking: “Is he dead? It was just a moment of anger.”
A knife was found in a nearby recycling bin.
Yesterday, judge Lady Stacey said the teenager would be held in custody and deferred sentence until April 1 at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Detective Superintendent David McLaren, of Police Scotland, said: “The details of the case have caused shock within the local community and further afield across the whole of the country.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank those pupils and teachers who tried their very best to save Bailey’s life but, as we have heard during the trial, there was nothing anyone could have done to save him.
“Finally, I’d like to pay tribute to Bailey’s family. Today won’t bring their son back – the pain of not having Bailey around will last for a very long time.”
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