Teenager made 'knuckleduster' on way to fatal fight

Witness accused of lying to police following friend's death

A teenager who accompanied his ‘best mate’ to a fatal fight in Ramsey made a homemade ‘knuckleduster’ on the last bus journey they shared together.

Today (6 October), in front of a jury at Douglas Courthouse, the 15-year-old accepted that he spent some of the trip testing it to see if it would cause ‘serious injury’.

The boy, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was giving evidence at the trial of the Ramsey teenager accused of murdering Christopher McBurnie.

Christopher, who was from Castletown, died on 29 May last year outside the defendant’s home after being stabbed.

Both boys were 14-years-old at the time of the incident.

‘Someone wins, someone loses’

Yesterday (5 October) the jury was played the Video Recorded Interview, conducted with the witness at Police Headquarters, just hours after Christopher died.

The teenager told the officer he’d travelled with Christopher from Douglas to Ramsey so his friend could ‘have a fight’ with the defendant after an argument broke out over TikTok the night before.

“What were you there for?” the police officer asked him.

“I was just there,” he replied.

The boy told the officer he ‘didn’t remember’ any of the conversations he’d had with Christopher on the journey adding that his friend was ‘chilled out and calm’.

When they arrived in Ramsey, accompanied by a friend of Christopher’s who’d got on the bus at Laxey, they met with at least five other teenagers before making their way to the defendant’s home.

The teenager told the police officer: “Chris thought he was going to win. He was just going to do a fair fist fight.”

When asked how fights like this normally ended the boy responded: “Someone wins, someone loses.”

‘Lying’

However in cross-examination the defendant’s advocate Siobhan Grey KC put it to the witness that he’d lied to officers when giving his account of what happened.

“In that interview you weren’t telling the police the whole truth, were you?” she said.

Instead she put it to the teenager that the fight had been arranged as a ‘2 v 1’ - involving him - and not a ‘one on one’.

“You were also going to be involved, weren’t you?” she pressed; “I’m going to suggest to you that you were lying again.”

The advocate also queried the conversations on the bus which he'd told police he couldn’t remember.

“Was that also a lie?” she asked; “Weren’t you talking about the fight you and Chris were going to have with X (the defendant)?”

“I don’t remember,” the witness replied.

In relation to his suggestion that this was to be a ‘fist fight’ she added: “That wasn’t true either was it?”

‘Bullying’

The witness told the jury he was aware the defendant had failed to attend a fight in Douglas, with a different person, the previous year.

“He (the defendant) was bullied online for not turning up, wasn’t he?” the advocate asked him.

“I can’t really remember,” the witness replied.

Ms Grey KC put it to the witness that Christopher was also responsible for bullying others telling him: “Picking on children was something Chris would do, wasn’t it?”

“Not really, no,” replied the teenager.

The advocate highlighted an incident involving Christopher and another child in which he’d punched him ’40 times’; an episode which was filmed.

“Were you as a close friend, best friend of Christopher, aware of that?” she asked.

“No,” replied the witness.

She also highlighted how the witness had called the defendant ‘dumb and fat’ in messages on social media adding: “Was that you bullying X (the defendant)?”

“I guess so,” replied the witness.

‘Verbalists’

Discussing a message in the group chat, where the defendant called the group discussing the fight ‘verbalists’, the advocate asked the witness if he thought the defendant might have the impression they were ‘all talk’.

“I guess so, yeah,” the witness replied.

She also highlighted a message the witness had sent the defendant which read: “X (the defendant) you can’t hide forever.”

“Did you mean you can’t hide from a fight forever?” the advocate quizzed.

“Yeah, I guess so,” the witness responded.

“You were serious, you and Chris, about this fight, weren’t you?” the advocate said.

“Yeah,” the witness responded.

“Are you saying 'There’s no hiding place X (the defendant). We are going to find you',” she pushed. 

“Well, I guess so, yeah,” the teenager replied.

Jurors were reminded of a message sent to the defendant, by the witness, at 2.30pm on 29 May which read: "We are on the bus now and you are actually going to get battered lad.”

“He was going to get battered by you, as well, wasn’t he,” the advocate asked.

“Well … yeah,” the witness replied.

‘Knuckleduster’

Ms Grey KC also showed the witness messages that he'd sent to Christopher about using his neck chain as a knuckleduster.

“Yeah, that’s something I talked about,” he admitted.

CCTV of some of the bus journey was played back to the witness which showed him sitting with Christopher on the top deck.

In it the witness can be seen taking off his chain and wrapping it around his fingers.

“Trying to make a knuckleduster?” the advocate asked.

“I guess, so, yeah,” the witness replied.  

“So that it can be used on X (the defendant)?” she asked again.

“Well, that’s what I was going to do, yeah,” the witness replied.

The footage also showed the witness punching himself in the head.

“Is that you testing out the knuckleduster?” the advocate asked.

“Looks like it, yeah,” the witness replied again.  

“So you were testing out the chain to see if it caused serious injury? Is that what you were doing?” she asked.  

“Yeah,” the witness said.  

“Were you discussing there with Christopher what you were going to do to X (the defendant) … and laughing about it too?” the advocate asked.

“Looks like it, yeah,” the witness confirmed.

Christopher is also seen on CCTV footage appearing to punch the back of the seat in front and the witness is seen putting his chain back round his neck. 

Ramsey

After arriving in Ramsey the witness - who had never met the defendant - made his way to the boy’s home.

The witness said he went up to the defendant's garden gate with Christopher but denied a suggestion it was his intention to punch and kick the defendant and ‘leave him for dead’.

Minutes after arriving Christopher was stabbed in what the prosecution argues was a 'frenzied' attack.

The Trial

The juvenile defendant denies the charge of murder.

The trial continues.