Kingstanding McDonalds murder: 5 go on trial for killing Dea-John Reid

Two men and three teenagers murdered a 14-year-old boy in a revenge attack after hunting him down "like a pack chasing down their prey", a court heard.

Michael Shields, 36, George Khan, 39, and a trio of youths, who cannot be named, are accused of killing Dea-John Reid in Kingstanding last May.

A court heard the schoolboy was stabbed in the chest near a McDonald’s restaurant on College Road by the gang who were armed with a knife and a wheel brace.

Dea-John collapsed in the road and was pronounced dead a short time later despite the efforts of emergency crews who rushed to the scene on May 31 last year.

Shields and Khan have gone on trial alongside a 16-year-old lad and two 15-year-old boys accused of murder at Birmingham Crown Court today (Wednesday, February 23).

What has the jury been told?

Jurors were told Dea-John was chased from a park and stabbed to death in broad daylight in retaliation for one of the defendants being mugged for his bag.

Khan had driven the gang around in a car hunting for the group who had tried to take the bag, of which Dea-John was a part, in a "plan to seek retribution".

After finding Dea-John they ran after him before blocking off his escape routes in what was described as a coordinated attack.

The youngster was then knifed in the left side of his chest. He lifted up his t-shirt, shuddered and collapsed before his attackers fled "simply leaving him behind to die".

What has the prosecution said about the case?

Opening the case, Richard Wormald QC, prosecuting, said: "This is a case in which the first five defendants are charged with the murder of Dea-John Reid on May 31 2021.

"Tragically Dea-John was only 14 when he was killed.

"The evidence you are about to hear shows that acting together as a group they went to look for Dea-John Reid and after finding him in a park in Kingstanding chased and caught up with him.

"He was then stabbed in the chest.

"The killing happened in broad daylight and was a revenge attack for events that happened earlier in the day involving the three younger defendants.

"They gathered together in a car driven by Khan and searched for the group of which Dea-John was a part.

"Although one of the teenagers, who was 14 at the time, was wielding the knife, the prosecution case is that all five are responsible for his murder.

"The evidence shows that all five acted together. They acted collectively. It can be inferred that all must have intended to cause Dea-John serious harm.

“George Khan and his friend Michael Shields, they are much older. You may think their behaviour was nothing short of a disgrace.

"Each knew when they began, that such harm was likely.”

The court heard Dea-John had been part of a group who had tried to take a bag from the 16-year-old defendant who later ran in a newsagents to seek refuge.

Mr Wormald added: "Mr Khan should have calmed matters.

"Instead he carried the plan to seek retribution forward, physically driving all five on the hunt for Dea-John’s group.

"Eventually they found their intended victim and got out of the car.

"Dea-John was chased. It was a group attack during which they each played their part, running after Dea-John and blocking off his escape routes.

"The male defendants acted like a pack, chasing down their prey.

"Having carried out the attack, the group all made off in haste - not one of them offered any support or comfort for Dea-John. They simply left him to die.

"The teenage defendant accepts that he killed Dea-John by stabbing him, but he will claim it was in self-defence.

"The other males accept they chased the group of which Dea-John was a part.

“They each deny that one of the defendants had a knife and deny their intention was for Dea-John to be killed.”

Have the accused entered pleas?

Shields, of Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, and Khan, of Kingstanding, deny murder as do the three teenagers, who cannot be identified due to their age.

A sixth defendant, Hollie Davies, 36, of Castle Bromwich, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of assisting an offender.

She is accused of obtaining money for two of the defendants and driving them away from Birmingham to Wigan before buying them new clothes to change into.

The court heard when police eventually found her car, they found the blood-stained clothes that were worn during the attack as well as the boy’s passports.

The trial continues.

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