A woman has been found guilty of helping her godson to conceal evidence following a brutal gang-related murder. Shereen Brown of Huddersfield in England disposed of items that prosecutors believe were used in the murder of 15-year-old Khayri Mclean in 2022 but which were never found. Teenagers Jakele Pusey and Jovani Harriott stabbed Mclean to death after ambushing him on his way home from school. They both received life sentences.
The murder happened in September 2022, and 15-year-old Pusey pleaded guilty months later. Along with 17-year-old Harriott, he admitted involvement in gangs and to killing Mclean by stabbing him with a 12-inch blade to the chest. The victim’s mother told the court about the evening she lost her son and said, “Nobody has won. This violence has to stop, and carrying weapons has to stop.” The grieving mother told the jury she doesn’t understand what such violence achieves, adding that the killers’ parents have also lost their children.
Brown’s accomplice, 22-year-old Javayne John, also pleaded guilty, while another associate, Keelan John-Matheson, was charged but was found not guilty by a jury. Brown and John will be sentenced in October.
The killing occurred amid a wave of knife violence across the UK, which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has promised to address. The new Labour government has pledged stern action on knife violence and formed a new commission focused on reducing it. Actor Idris Elba joined the Prime Minister for an awareness-raising campaign after founding the Elba Hope Foundation, which speaks to victims of knife crime and works to ensure their voices are heard.
At an event in Downing Street, Elba said it was not enough to enact legislation, and the government must confront the causes of youth violence. The actor said leaders should engage in “joined-up thinking” and listen to parents, charity groups, youth workers, and the police. “We need all of these perspectives to sit around the table,” Elba said.
Crime statistics for England and Wales show that in 2022, there were 46,153 knife-related offences. The following year, that figure increased to 49,489.
