Two teenagers convicted over death of boy fatally stabbed at Wolverhampton park
Two teenagers have been convicted for their involvement in the death of a 17-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed in a Wolverhampton park.
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Harleigh Hepworth, who lived in Rugeley, had been visiting Wolverhampton with a friend on the afternoon of his death on March 7.
After arriving in the city on the train, the two headed to West Park in Park Road West to meet the two teenagers who would later become his killers.
Harleigh and his friend walked through the park and were then confronted by the youngsters, including Jovarn Esterine, now aged 18, and a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, who had met the pair with an ulterior motive.
Following a brief exchange, Harleigh was fatally stabbed in the chest by the 17-year-old. He ran from the scene but was found lying in the park bleeding.
Harleigh's friend called for help, but despite a passer-by stopping and calling emergency services, he died from his injuries.
After he was stabbed, Esterine put his arm around Harleigh’s friend to prevent him from intervening to protect him.
Esterine held a knife to the friend’s chest, threatening to kill him unless he handed the passcode to his phone, which was then stolen.
Esterine, who was 17 at the time but has since turned 18, along with the 17-year-old, left the park and ran away from the area discarding one of the stolen phones in a nearby drain.
Two days after Harleigh’s death, detectives arrested the 17-year-old boy. Esterine, from Wolverhampton, was arrested from his home on March 10.
The pair denied murder and refused to answer any further questions during police interviews.
On Monday (November 18), after a six-week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court, the 17-year-old boy was found guilty of murder and robbery.
Esterine was found not-guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter and robbery. The pair will be sentenced at a later date.
Det Insp Ade George, who led the investigation at the West Midlands Police Homicide Unit, said: “Throughout this case our thoughts have always been with Harleigh's family who have been devastated by his death.
“We hope that the conviction will provide a sense of justice for the unjust killing of Harleigh.”
In tribute to him, Harleigh's family described the teen as "funny" and "polite", adding they will "miss him massively".
Floral tributes were left outside West Park in the days following his death, as a note on one bouquet read "rest peacefully now my angel".
