A 17-YEAR-OLD has been found guilty of the murder of 19-year-old Kian Tordoff, while his brother and his friend were convicted of the teenager's manslaughter.
Six men were on trial for the murder of the young man and the attempted murder of Matthew Page – known as Matthew Lowther – in the early hours of October 10 last year on John Street, at Bradford Crown Court.
Sheryar Khan, 17, of Yew Tree Avenue was found guilty of murder this afternoon, as the fifth day of jury deliberations came to an end.
He was also found guilty of the wounding with intent of Mr Lowther.
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Judge Mansell decided the teenager's identity could be published after the Telegraph & Argus submitted an application to the court asking for the order prohibiting his name being reported to be lifted.
He said: "Sadly, cases such as this where young males take up arms to exact revenge or take the law into their own hands are not uncommon.
"Also the kind of knives that are routinely being used to inflict injury in such incidents are hunting knives or machetes.
"I consider it very important that the press are able not only to report this case fully, but also identify the perpetrator of the killing of an innocent young man, and the near-fatal stabbing of a second.
"A clear message of deterrence needs to be sent out by the courts when offences like this are committed, especially to young people and those responsible for them."
Arbaz Khan, 22, of Yew Tree Avenue, Sheryar’s older brother, and Mohammed Adil Hussain, 18, of Kite Mews, Lower Grange, Arbaz's friend, were both found guilty of the manslaughter of Mr Tordoff and guilty of the unlawful wounding of Mr Lowther.
Aizaz Khan, 27, of Yew Tree Avenue, Sheryar and Arbaz’s older brother, Amaad Shakiel, 20, of Leaventhorpe Lane, and Adam Qayum, 23, of Avenel Road, Allerton, were acquitted of murder and attempted murder.
Mr Tordoff was stabbed six times by Sheryar Kahn, who was 16 at the time and wielding a knife and machete.
Chilling footage seen throughout the course of the trial showed Mr Tordoff being chased for a matter of seconds, before he tripped and the teenager got on top of him.
Mr Tordoff managed to get up but then collapsed in front of The Silver Fox Bar, where Mr Lowther was also slashed in the stomach and stabbed in the upper-right chest area by the 17-year-old.
Three young females tried to help Mr Tordoff – who was bleeding from his neck and back.
He told them “tell my mum I love her” as he died in their arms. He was officially pronounced dead at 6.40am.
Pathologist, Dr Kirsten Hope, said an 11cm deep stab wound to Mr Tordoff’s upper-left back was the cause of death.
He also suffered a stab wound to the neck, front of his torso, left hip and a zig-zag stab wound to his right hand, where a knife went right through, which was indicative of him protecting himself.
The fateful night’s events began at around 5.15am, when a large-scale street brawl erupted on Westgate, at the top of Sackville Street, shortly after large groups left nightclubs and bars in the area as they closed.
Arbaz Khan was heavily involved in this, having arrived in a white Seat Leon with Shakiel, Qayum, Hussain and the latter’s uncle, known as “Uncle P”.
He said he spotted two friends, who he spoke to from his car, but then pulled over after he spotted a man called Abdullah – known as “Chaser” – who Sheryar Khan had been having issues with.
The driver got out and said he approached to shake his hand but Chaser proceeded to punch him in the face and a fight ensued, with more people becoming involved.
Shakiel and Qayum said they were not involved in the fight and the four defendants ran to the Seat to escape as the large group surrounded them.
Mr Tordoff had been at Village with a number of friends, including Mr Lowther, before both became involved in the fight.
They could be seen close to the white Seat Leon as it tried to leave, with Mr Lowther kicking the car and Mr Tordoff smashing the windscreen with a bottle.
The Seat left, after swerving towards pedestrians, and Mr Tordoff, Mr Lowther and their friends began walking up to John Street, where they began playfighting with a cardboard box.
Arbaz Khan had dropped his phone during the fight and Reanna Dacres – who was with the group heading to John Street – picked it up and arranged with Sheryar Khan for it to be picked up.
Arbaz Khan, Shakiel, Qayum and Hussain returned to Bradford city centre in a white BMW X5, driven by Aizaz Khan and the teenager.
Aizaz Khan, Shakiel and Qayum thought they were simply going to collect the phone – despite Shakiel spotting two knives near Arbaz Khan as they got close to the city centre – and Qayum also stated he just wanted a lift home.
But after Ms Dacres handed the phone over on John Street, chaos ensued.
Witnesses who were part of the group on John Street said the windows of the BMW were down and they heard “do you think you're f**king clever now” from inside.
It was then that the 17-year-old flew out of the front passenger seat wielding two blades, while Arbaz Khan was close behind from the back, armed with a machete.
Hussain - who the prosecution say was armed with a knife - and Qayum also got out, but the latter did not have a weapon.
Shakiel and Aizaz Khan stayed in the car initially, parking up on Piccadilly, a few streets away.
Less than 30 seconds after leaving the vehicle, Mr Tordoff had been fatally stabbed.
The 17-year-old old admitted to killing Mr Tordoff and inflicting the life-threatening wound on Mr Lowther, but he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, rather than murder, on grounds of “diminished responsibility”.
This was on account of his mental health at the time, claiming he was hearing the voice of a London man who would make him do negative things – he said it told him to “do it, f**king do it” moments before the stabbing.
Two psychiatrists – one for the prosecution and one for the defence – agreed the teenager suffered from psychosis but the jury have decided this did not contribute significantly to the killing.
Judge Mansell also said: "In my view, the defendant sought to hide behind his mental disorder in this trial and was not being truthful when he told psychiatrists that voices in his head commanded him to take up a knife before leaving his home, and then commanded him to stab Kian Tordoff moments before he did so."
Sheryar Khan, Arbaz Khan and Hussain will be sentenced tomorrow.
Aizaz Khan and Qayum have been released, while Shakiel has been remanded unconditional on bail other matters.
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