Two teenagers just admitted to stabbing a 14-year-old schoolboy to death with a machete on a London bus. Kelyan Bokassa got stabbed about 27 times as he was heading home on a route 472 bus in Woolwich, south-east London, on Tuesday, January 7. Emergency services rushed to Woolwich Church Street, near Woolwich Ferry, right before 2.30pm. Kelyan, an aspiring rapper, suffered a severed femoral artery and sadly passed away shortly after medics got to the scene. The police took an unusual step of releasing CCTV images and naming two boys as part of a public appeal for information.
Two 16-year-old boys faced murder charges and showed up at the Old Bailey on Friday for a plea hearing. They both pleaded guilty to Kelyan’s murder and for carrying a knife on Woolwich Church Street. Kelyan’s relatives gasped and looked teary as they sat just a few meters away from where the two boys were seated with officers. The case reporting got delayed for a bit after one of the boys’ lawyers asked for time to speak to his client following what seemed like an unexpected plea. Later, the youth returned to court and confirmed his guilty plea.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC requested reports before the sentencing set for July 25. During an earlier hearing, prosecutor Tom Little KC mentioned how the victim was seated at the back of the bus on the upper deck when he was attacked by two young people both armed with “lengthy machetes”. The defendants had prior knowledge of Kelyan’s presence on the bus and headed straight towards him, the court heard. Mr. Little explained, “It’s pretty obvious this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing. The two defendants must have known the deceased was on the bus. They approached him, and almost instantly, both of them pulled out machetes and went after him. He got stabbed or attempted to be stabbed a total of 27 times before the defendants left the bus.” One of the machetes got thrown into the River Thames but was later retrieved.
Maybe it’s just me, but it’s pretty crazy how things turned out on that London bus that day. Like, two teenagers just randomly decided to attack this poor boy with machetes. Not really sure why this matters, but it’s just a wild and tragic story, you know? The fact that they knew he was on the bus beforehand and still went after him is just mind-blowing. And throwing a machete into the river? Seriously, what were they thinking?
In the end, all we can do is wait for the sentencing on July 25 and hope that justice is served for Kelyan and his family. It’s just a sad situation all around, and my heart goes out to everyone affected by this senseless act of violence.
