A sister of a boy from a private school was attacked in the heart and told her horror yesterday, after she received a report that she couldn’t deliver an unlawful murder verdict.
Yousef Makki (17 years old) died in March 2019 after an altercation with Joshua Molnar (then 17).
Molnar was found not guilty of both murder and manslaughter after his defence said the stabbing was a ‘tragic accident’.
Coroner Alison Mutch rejected this claim yesterday, saying she could not be satisfied ‘on the balance of probabilities’ that Yousef’s death was ‘accidental’.
However, she added: ‘The precise circumstances in which he was wounded cannot, on the balance of probabilities, be ascertained.’
Miss Mutch gave a narrative verdict, rather than recording the unlawful killing.
Yousef Malikki (pictured) was 17 years old when he got into a fight with Joshua Molnar. This occurred in March 2019.
Molnar stated in evidence that Yousef had a knife in his hand and that he used his weapon to defend himself.
The pair’s mutual friend Adam Chowdhary said he did not see Yousef with a knife in his hand – but told the inquest he did not see the actual confrontation, which took place in the leafy Greater Manchester suburb of Hale Barns.
Michael Bowman was the private security guard and witness.
He was watching Netflix and couldn’t tell exactly what happened.
The inquest followed a lengthy campaign by Yousef’s family after Molnar was acquitted of murder and manslaughter.
Yousef’s sister Jade Akoum (right), 30, said: ‘To say that we are disappointed is an understatement. We are disgusted. We feel that the coroner did not challenge Molnar and Chowdhary’
Chowdhary was held for four months in prison for having a knife and Molnar to 16 months, after he admitted to the same crime as Molnar.
Yousef’s mother Debbie Makki died of sepsis in May 2020.
Her family said she suffered a ‘broken heart’ following the death of her son, who held a scholarship at the £14,000-a-year Manchester Grammar School.
After yesterday’s verdict at Stockport Coroner’s Court, Yousef’s sister Jade Akoum, 30, said: ‘To say that we are disappointed is an understatement. We are disgusted. We feel that the coroner did not challenge Molnar and Chowdhary.’