Teen murder suspect 'was also stabbed'

5:15pm Friday 18th July 2008

A teenager charged with the murder of Mitcham stab victim Eugene Attram, was himself stabbed so severely that muscle and even bone is his leg was slashed, a court heard.

Ashley Rookwood, 18, was treated at St George's hospital, on the same evening that doctors at the Tooting hospital pronounced Eugene dead, a jury at the Old Bailey was told today.

The prosecution allege that Rookwood had been involved in a fight between two rival gangs involving as many as 60 youths.

In a statement read to the court, Dr Watts, a consultant pathologist ruled out the possibility that Rookwood had accidentally stabbed himself.

He said: "The stab wound to the left thigh was 6 to 8cm deep and up to 10cm in length with exposure of muscle and chipping of the femur.

"Owing to the position of the wound, it is extremely difficult to think that it was self-inflicted in an accidental manner. The force needed to create such a wound would also be an indication against this.

"Accidental self-infliction is not a reasonable proposition."

Eugene, 16, was stabbed in the head, chest, and back, while earlier in the trial a court heard a friend who was stabbed 10 times as he rushed to his side give evidence.

The jury was told how they were ambushed by at least eight youths wielding baseball bats near Lavender Park on November 4, 2006.

Eugene and the witness, who cannot be named, were said to be part of a group of 14, all members of Battersea-based gang, SUK.

Prosecution lawyer, Anthony Leonard QC, claimed Rookwood and four others appearing at the Old Bailey charged with violent disorder, are members of rival Mitcham-gang, Terror Zone.

Last week the jury was shown gang tags and "Terror Zone" slogans scrawled across exercise books belonging to one of the defendants, Lauren Fejzui, charged with violent disorder.

Sunil Alleyne and Ben Sampson, both 18 and from Mitcham, are also in the dock charged with violent disorder alongside a 15-year-old from Tooting who cannot be named.

The trial continues.

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