Boy found guilty of town centre stabbing death

A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been found guilty of killing a man in an East Sussex town centre.

A jury at Lewes Crown Court cleared the teenager of murder but found him guilty of manslaughter after he said he stabbed 20-year-old Billy Ripley in self-defence in Hailsham.

Officers were called to the Vicarage Field area at about 18:20 BST on 29 August 2024 to reports that a man had been stabbed following an altercation.

Mr Ripley was treated by paramedics but died at the scene from a single stab wound.

Julia Ripley, the victim's grandmother, has told the BBC she is "disgusted" with the verdict.

"My precious grandson has been taken away from us," she said.

"Our family will never be the same again and his little girl hasn't got a daddy any more."

Ms Ripley said her grandson was a "lovely" young man who "loved his daughter".

"He was kind-hearted and no one had a bad word to say about him," she added.

Ms Ripley said she and her family plan to appeal the conviction.

Prosecutor Ryan Richter told the court the teenager plunged a knife 8cm to 12cm (3.1 to 4.7 inches) into Mr Ripley's chest, slicing a rib and the breast bone.

During the trial the jury heard Mr Ripley had stabbed the boy twice in the arm, and the boy said he "moved back" and "tried to defend himself".

The teenager said: "I stabbed him once in the torso because I thought he was going to kill me. To defend myself.

"His knife was bigger than my arm, it was huge."

He added: "I thought he was going to kill me.

"I was shocked, confused and I wanted to deter him."

The boy told the jury he had "no issues" with Mr Ripley, and added he did not think he had killed Mr Ripley.

A friend of Mr Ripley, 20-year-old Ella Doe, said she had been with Mr Ripley when he died.

She said she had been sitting on a bench with him in the town centre, when the boy approached and told him to "come round the corner".

After which she said she heard shouting.

"I stood up, then he [Mr Ripley] started walking with his hand on his chest saying 'call an ambulance, I've just been stabbed'," she said.

"He had blood dripping all over his hand. He didn't want to show he was in pain. He started to panic a bit.

"He went to walk. I went to see where he was going. I found him."

Mr Ripley collapsed after being stabbed in the heart and died at the scene, despite members of the public and later paramedics trying to save him, the jury heard.

The court was shown CCTV footage taken from town centre businesses showing the movements of the teenager and Mr Ripley,

The 17-year-old was then seen leaving the scene and cycling away on his bike.

The teenager is due to face sentencing on 23 May.

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