The trial for the murder of Harley Barfield commences in Haverhill
In a court hearing, it was revealed that a spurned 16-year-old youth, consumed by his infatuation with his ex-girlfriend, tragically took the life of her current boyfriend. He lay in ambush after school, armed with a knife, before committing the fatal act.
In a fit of jealousy, the lad exchanged his school attire for a tracksuit and equipped himself with a kitchen blade. He then approached the young man in what was described as an envious fury, provoking him into a brawl. According to Riel Karmy-Jones KC, who prosecuted the case at Ipswich Crown Court, the 16-year-old and Harley Barfield, entangled in a complex love affair, exchanged blows before the teenager produced a knife from his pocket, inflicting multiple wounds on Harley.
In a vehement assault described by Miss Karmy-Jones as “frenzied,” the 16-year-old assailant inflicted numerous wounds on Harley, also 16, including cuts to his neck, head, cheek, and lip. Additionally, Harley sustained three stab wounds on the left side of his chest, one of which punctured the thoracic cavity.
Eyewitnesses purportedly observed the 16-year-old boy pursuing Harley with a knife, amidst Harley’s anguished cries for cessation. In Strasbourg Square, Haverhill, near a parking area, Harley ultimately succumbed to the relentless attack.
Reportedly, the assailant continued to thrust the blade towards Harley, who lay in a defensive, fetal position on the ground. Meanwhile, the 16-year-old’s former paramour arrived at the scene, her distress echoing through the air. In a desperate bid to staunch the flow of blood from Harley’s wounds, one of her companions sprang into action.
Miss Karmy-Jones reported that an unidentified individual from the community administered CPR to Harley, who seemed to have ceased respiration.
Subsequent to the incident, the 16-year-old swiftly departed the vicinity, disposing of the bladed instrument.
He proceeded to his grandparents’ abode, urgently instructing them to summon law enforcement, divulging that he had engaged in an act of stabbing.
A dispatch was sent for an air ambulance to attend to the site of the assault. Harley was expeditiously airlifted to the medical facility, where, despite the earnest endeavors of medical practitioners, he succumbed on January 11.
Miss Karmy-Jones elucidated that the fatal incision had penetrated the interstices of his ribs, traversing the anterior of his heart and emerging through the posterior.
A subsequent post-mortem analysis revealed that demise had been induced by systemic shock resulting from a dearth of circulatory vitality.
The tribunal was apprised that subsequent to his apprehension, the adolescent, initially averred that Harley had been brandishing a blade, purportedly one he had fortuitously procured when it slipped from Harley’s pocket. He alleged that Harley had previously menaced him with mortal intent, thus he resorted to a defensive act, although he ultimately conceded that this was not the sequence of events.
Miss Karmy-Jones noted that after the altercation, the 16-year-old’s digital records unveiled inquiries into methodologies for inflicting harm without reciprocal jeopardy, as well as inquiries into the juridical repercussions for homicide.
“His electronic device manifests a protracted preoccupation with the notion of homicide,” Miss Karmy-Jones asserted. “The prosecution contends that his infatuation with his former paramour and his resentment towards her liaison with Harley led him to commit this act.”
“He was consumed by an extreme fixation and profound jealousy, regarding Harley as an impediment to the restoration of his romantic relationship,” she appended.
Miss Karmy-Jones conveyed that on the ninth of January, he was in the throes of a “jealous rage” and had embarked upon a mission to vanquish Harley.
The 16-year-old has entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of murdering Harley Barfield on the ninth of January this year, yet he has acknowledged his culpability in the act of manslaughter, and has avowed his possession of the weapon that was employed in the fatality.
Miss Karmy-Jones apprised the tribunal that through his admissions, the defendant, who has received a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), has conceded accountability not only for transporting the blade to the scene and perpetrating the act upon Harley but also for the infliction of grievous bodily harm, with a purpose to end his life, thereby being accountable for his demise.
Miss Karmy-Jones advanced that the 16-year-old’s line of defense centres on the contention that his ASD attenuates his liability for the slaying.
The trial is currently ongoing.
