Teenage murder suspect stabbed victim with sword near pizzeria then fled on victim's e-scooter


Teenage murder suspect, 14, stabbed boy, 14, to death with sword hidden inside walking stick outside east London pizza shop then fled on victim’s e-scooter, court hears

  • Fares Maatou, 14, died in his school uniform after Canning Town pizzeria fight 
  • The Old Bailey heard today how the murder weapon was concealed inside a cane
  • Eyewitnesses say the attackers fled on his e-scooter while Fares was left to die
  • One 14-year-old suspect, from Essex, appeared at court today via video link

A 14-year-old youth accused of murdering a schoolboy with a sword concealed inside a cane has appeared at the Old Bailey today. 

Fares Maatou, 14, died in his blood soaked school uniform after he was stabbed to death and struck over the head by a fellow teenager in east London last Friday. 

One 14-year-old suspect, who cannot be named, allegedly beat aspiring engineer Fares with a black metal cane used to conceal a sword, while another suspect inflicted the fatal wound.

Fares’ attackers are said to have made off with his electric scooter as he lay dying outside Zzetta Soul Fired Pizza in Barking Road with an 11cm stab wound. 

Aspiring engineer Fares Maatou, 14, (pictured) died while still in his school uniform after being stabbed and struck over the head repeatedly in Canning Town on Friday April 23

Aspiring engineer Fares Maatou, 14, (pictured) died while still in his school uniform after being stabbed and struck over the head repeatedly in Canning Town on Friday April 23 

A nearby business owner who saw the stabbing said a FedEx delivery driver and one of Fares’ friends frantically tried to resuscitate him. 

The boy was pronounced dead at 4.30pm – becoming the 11th teenager to be stabbed to death in the nation’s capital in 2021. 

Touching floral tributes spelling out LLF – Long Live Fares – were left at the scene by friends and family. 

Eyewitnesses later reported that his mother fainted when she first arrived at the gory Canning Town crime scene. 

Friends and family left floral tributes and balloons outside the scene on Barking Road last week

Friends and family left floral tributes and balloons outside the scene on Barking Road last week

Six more arrests were made at a property in Leyton yesterday in connection with Fares’ death.

One suspect, 14, from Grays, Essex was charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon on Sunday, after the confrontation between two groups of young people turned deadly. 

The boy spoke only to confirm his identity as he appeared in court via video link from Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre, Northamptonshire.

He was remanded in custody ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing at the Old Bailey on July 16.

The 14-year-old murder suspect, from Grays, Essex, spoke only to confirm his name when he appeared via video link at the Old Bailey (pictured) today

The 14-year-old murder suspect, from Grays, Essex, spoke only to confirm his name when he appeared via video link at the Old Bailey (pictured) today

Louise Oakley, prosecuting, said: ‘CCTV reveals what led up to the infliction of that injury.

‘There was a confrontation between a group involving the deceased and others and the group involving this defendant.

The mother of schoolboy Fares Maatou, 14, is said to have fainted when she first arrived at the blood soaked crime scene in east London

The mother of schoolboy Fares Maatou, 14, is said to have fainted when she first arrived at the blood soaked crime scene in east London

‘Others were present on both sides, ultimately the deceased received his injuries.

‘On the face of the case that I have seen there is no suggestion that he engaged in violence of any confrontation.

‘Notably, in this case an item described as a black cane, concealed within the item, a sheath, was a sword.’

Fares, whose family is originally from Algeria, has an older sister Amira and a brother.

His father is in hospital critically ill with coronavirus and awoke from a coma six weeks ago. 

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