Two youths have admitted murdering a 14-year-old boy in a machete attack on a London bus while he was travelling home from school.
Aspiring rapper Kelyan Bokassa was stabbed 27 times as he travelled on a route 472 bus in Woolwich, South East London, on the afternoon of January 7.
Emergency services were called to the scene at about 2.30pm, but Kelyan died shortly after medics arrived having suffered a severed femoral artery.
In an unusual move, Scotland Yard had issued CCTV images and named two boys as part of a public appeal for information.
Two boys, both aged 16, were charged with murder and appeared at the Old Bailey today for a plea hearing.
The pair pleaded guilty to Kelyan’s murder and having a knife on Woolwich Church Street.
Relatives of Kelyan gasped and appeared tearful as they sat metres away from the dock where the two boys sat flanked by officers.
Reporting of the case was briefly delayed after one of the boys’ barristers had called for time to speak to his client in light of what had appeared to be an unexpected plea.
Kelyan Bokassa was stabbed around 27 times as he travelled home on a 472 bus in January
The 14-year-old boy died after being fatally stabbed on the London bus in Woolwich in January
Later, the youth returned to court and confirmed his guilty plea.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC ordered reports ahead of sentencing on July 25.
At an earlier hearing, prosecutor Tom Little KC said the victim was sitting on the back seat of the bus on the upper deck when he was attacked by two youths both armed with ‘lengthy machetes’.
The defendants knew in advance of the presence of Kelyan when they boarded the bus and walked directly towards him, the court was told.
Mr Little said: ‘It is clear this is not a form of spontaneous incident. The two defendants must have known the deceased was on the bus.
‘They approach him and almost instantaneously, the two of them pull out machetes and attacked the deceased.
Police cordons were put in place amid a murder probe after the stabbing on the 472 bus
Forensic officers gather evidence on the bus following the stabbing in Woolwich in January
‘He is stabbed or attempted to be stabbed on a total of 27 occasions before the defendants made their way off the bus.’
One of the machetes was discarded in the River Thames but was later recovered.
Both defendants remained at large for a few days before being arrested.
Both had previous convictions, including for having a knife in a public place. One of them had a referral order in place at the time of the murder.
The defendants cannot be named because of their ages.
However, Judge Lucraft indicated he would hear a media application to lift the reporting restriction at their sentencing hearing.
Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lee from the specialist crime unit, who led the Metropolitan Police’s investigation, said this afternoon: ‘Today I wish to express my team’s heartfelt sympathies to Kelyan’s family.
‘The brutal and senseless attack on Kelyan’s has deeply impacted his friends, the wider community and everyone that has worked tirelessly to identify, arrest and prosecute those responsible.
‘I hope Kelyan’s family can take some solace in this outcome but I know they remain deeply bereft at the waste of three young lives.’
Footage posted on social media showed first responders performing first aid at the scene
A vigil at St Mary Magdalene church in Woolwich on January 8 following Kelyan’s death
An inquest in January heard members of the public tried to help Kelyan after he was stabbed.
Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lee told that hearing that police were called at around 2.28pm on January 7 by a bus driver reporting a stabbing on the bus.
She said police understand that Kelyan boarded the bus at 2.06pm at North Greenwich train station and then two male suspects boarded the vehicle at 2.26pm.
DCI Lee continued: ‘They went up to the top deck where Kelyan was sitting and they immediately attacked him.
‘Members of the public who were boarded on the bus called for help and asked the driver to stop, which he did, on Woolwich Church Street, and the suspects fled the bus.
‘A number of passengers tried to help Kelyan. He came down the stairs and they placed him on a seat on the lower deck.’
She said the bus driver called for aid, and police and London Ambulance Service attended, but Kelyan could not be saved and he died at the scene.
At a vigil held in January at a church overlooking the bus stop where he was stabbed, one of Kelyan’s friends said the boy had a ‘pure heart’ and would ‘always be there for you’.
