Olly Stephens: Two boys guilty of teen's murder

Two schoolboys who ambushed a 13-year-old boy and stabbed him to death after a dispute on social media have been found guilty of murder.

Olly Stephens suffered fatal stab wounds to his chest and back in a field in Reading, Berkshire, on 3 January.

He had been lured there by a girl and was then attacked by two boys carrying knives, Reading Crown Court was told.

The girl, 14, admitted manslaughter. She will be sentenced with the two boys, also both 14, at a later date.

None of them can be identified for legal reasons.

His killers had fallen out with Olly because they believed he "grassed" on them to the brother of a boy they had mocked in a social media group chat, the trial heard.

Voice notes and text messages were presented to the jury in which the boys talked about taking revenge.

"He's actually getting banged when I see him," one message said.

Another added: "I actually hate the kid with a passion, like if I was to see him right now I'll probably end up killing him or something."

The girl was recruited to lure Olly to Bugs Bottom fields, near his home in Emmer Green, as part of a "set-up", the jury was told.

She suggested in messages exchanged before the killing that Olly deserved what was coming and described it as "karma", the court heard.

Alison Morgan QC, prosecuting, said Olly had no idea he was about to be attacked.

"This was an ambush on him. A planned attack that was designed to put him in a vulnerable position," she said.

One blade penetrated 17cm (6.5in) into Olly's back, and another wound in his chest was 9cm (3.5in) deep, the jury heard.

An off-duty nurse walking her dog found the fatally injured teenager and attempted resuscitation, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The court heard the killers tried to dispose of evidence and exchanged messages on Snapchat about the attack, with one of the boys describing it as "the biggest mistake of my life".

Both boys were also convicted of perverting the course of justice.

In a statement issued after the verdicts, Olly's family described the stabbing as a "callous and cold-hearted act".

"He left our home on that fateful afternoon with love and laughter in his heart, with the hope of a bright fun filled future ahead of him," they said.

"Within 13 minutes of leaving the safety of his loving home Olly had left us forever.

"Two minutes was all it took to end him and cause us and our family catastrophic heartbreak."

They added that Olly was "warm, kind, soulful, a deep thinker and a great carer to those around him".

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].