Youth used ‘Zombie’ machete to kill teen

A youth is facing years behind bars for hacking to death a teenager with a deadly “Zombie Killer” machete.

Stefan Appleton, 17, was fatally stabbed with a 25in long serrated blade.

An Old Bailey jury deliberated for 14 and a half hours to convict the 17-year-old defendant of manslaughter but clear him of murder.

His alleged getaway scooter driver was cleared of murder while another youth, also 17, was acquitted of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.

As the jury delivered its verdicts, there were gasps from Stefan’s family before they left the courtroom in tears.

The conviction comes just days after Home Secretary Theresa May announced plans to ban the sale, manufacture and importation of Zombie Killer knives which she said “glamorise violence and are clearly targeted at young people”.

The trial heard how student Stefan had been playing a game with friends by Nightingale Park in Islington, where children were enjoying the summer evening on the swings and slides on Wednesday June 10 last year.

His 17-year-old attacker jumped off the back of a stolen scooter, pulled out the machete-like blade and chased after Stefan and his friends, the court heard.

When Stefan tripped and fell, he was stabbed by the boy while on the ground. He died later in hospital.

As the killer rode off on the back of the moped, he allegedly shouted out “RP”, standing for Red Pitch, a rival to another gang in the Nightingale Park area.

He fled to Bristol and tried to arrange a flight to Malaga in Spain before returning to lie low in London, but he was arrested within days.

In his defence, the youth, who cannot be named, said he had come under attack when he went to snatch back his bicycle which had been stolen by another boy.

Sentencing was adjourned until April 21.