A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a teenager in Bristol, in an attack linked to gang rivalry.
Eddie Kinuthia, 19, was stabbed multiple times near his home in St Pauls in July 2023 and later died in hospital from a leg injury. Zachariah Talbert-Young, 27, was found guilty of the murder and of attempting to kill another teenager, Nathan Williams, while on bail. Talbert-Young, from Easton, was sentenced to a minimum of 34 years for both offences.
Paul Hayden, 22, from Hanham, was also jailed for at least 18 years for the attempted murder of Nathan Williams. He had previously been cleared of murdering Mr Kinuthia.
The court heard that around 150 people were attending a community event when two masked men dressed in black arrived on an electric bike. Mr Kinuthia was stabbed as many as six times, with the fatal injury a five-inch wound to his thigh that severed his femoral artery, causing catastrophic blood loss.
Mr Kinuthia’s mother, Irene Muthemba, gave a witness statement in court, urging young people to reject knife crime. “Eddie deserved to grow and learn from his mistakes and discover the world. You denied him the chance,” she said. “We have seen enough bloodshed on our streets.”
Ms Muthemba described her son as “kind, loving, confident, bold and intelligent,” and called on the defendants to reflect on their actions. “Just imagine if your parents had gone out to buy you those suits for your graduation instead of for a murder trial,” she said.
Judge Mr Justice Pepperall said the killing was linked to a postcode gang feud in Bristol, between the 1-6s and 2-4s, and described the conflict as “an all consuming cost with a senseless round of tit-for-tat killings.” Talbert-Young was associated with the 1-6 group, while Mr Kinuthia was seen with the 2-4s.
