Murder accused 'did not see' teenager's killing

A man accused of murdering a teenager has told a court he heard "screaming" but did not see the killing happen.

Jamie Meah, 18, was stabbed to death and a 16-year-old boy was seriously injured when they were dragged out of a taxi by a gang of men in Armley, Leeds, in March 2023.

Ranei Wilks, 23, is on trial at Leeds Crown Court charged with murder and attempted murder.

Giving evidence, he said he was in a car "chilling" with three other men but when they saw someone with a knife, the others jumped out.

Mr Wilks said he and the other men were in the car together as the others were selling drugs.

He told the jury he stayed in the Mercedes on Brooklyn Terrace because he thought he could be seriously harmed, but he could not see what was happening and "just wanted to get away".

He said he did not know there had been a knife in the car beforehand but when the men returned to the vehicle after "30 or 40 seconds", he saw what he described as a zombie knife.

When he heard later that a boy had died, he said: "My heart fell out."

Mr Wilks is also accused of two counts of possession of a bladed article, one of which relates to a separate incident.

During cross-examination, the prosecutor Imran Shafi said: "You were the man with the knife who banged on the windows and stabbed Jamie Meah in the taxi."

Mr Wilks responded: "I was not."

He said: "I had no involvement in the assault or stabbings of these males. I do not know these males."

Mr Shafi said the man described as carrying the knife by a taxi driver who witnessed the murder was Ranei Wilks.

Mr Wilks responded: "He must have been confused. His descriptions are way off."

A further three suspects who the prosecution say were involved – Caleb Awe, Aquade Jeffers and Enham Nishat – fled the UK after the killing and remain at large.

Mr Wilks admitted that he travelled to Ireland, Paris and then Turkey after the murder but arranged to come back to the UK because he wanted to clear his name.

He travelled to Ireland with the three other suspects after the murder because he said: "I didn't know what to do. My head was all over the place."

He told the jury he later travelled to Paris and Turkey on his own but he knew that he was wanted and said: "I knew they put my face on the news."

Mr Wilks, of no fixed abode, said he contacted solicitors, who spoke to police and he arranged to come back to the UK because he wanted to clear his name.

He was arrested on arrival at Leeds Bradford Airport in April 2024, after flying back into the UK from Turkey.

His barrister Louise Blackwell has told the court Mr Wilks was present in the vehicle when the attack happened, but he denies "participating in it or encouraging it".

The trial continues.

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