The sister of a 17-year-old boy who died after being stabbed by an acquaintance in 2019 has told BBC 5 live that he has been “vindicated” by a new coroner’s ruling.
Coroner Geraint Williams ruled last month that Yousef Makki was unlawfully killed when Joshua Molnar stabbed him in the heart.
Mr Molnar, who is now 22, was cleared of murder and manslaughter at a criminal trial four years ago which ruled that he acted in self-defence. An initial coroner’s inquest into Yousef’s death recorded a narrative verdict, but the High Court ordered a new inquest following a legal battle from Yousef’s family.
Two weeks on from the latest inquest, in an exclusive interview with 5 Live’s Nihal Arthanayake, Yousef’s sister Jade Akoum says that the Coroner’s verdict was “like a dream come true”, but that her family would not give up on the hope of a re-trial.
Jade said: “It’s something that for four and a half years we’ve been trying to prove and to hear a senior coroner say that on public record, it was like a dream come true. It’s something we’ve been trying to achieve for a very long time.
“He’s been vindicated, I guess. He was kind of blamed for his own death, or he was the author of his own death. And now we know. We’ve proved that that wasn’t the case.”
Throughout the interview, Jade tells Nihal of the treatment they endured during the trial and how she believes class played a part in the case.
“I feel like had the defendants been from normal backgrounds, council house backgrounds, like Yousef, it definitely would have played out differently. And I say this now in hindsight because I’ve seen cases and how they’ve played out. Similar cases.”
Despite this latest ruling, Jade added that she won’t give up fighting for what she sees as justice; “we’re realistic that the prospects of re-opening the case or a re-trial are very, very slim, but it doesn’t mean we’ve given up. We do have that little bit of hope that they can put this right…
“I feel at peace, but if there is hope for a prosecution of course we would accept that but if there’s no chance then we’re happy with what we got.”
You can listen back to the full interview on Nihal Arthanayake’s show on BBC 5 Live from 2pm on Thursday 9 November.
