Eddie Kinuthia killer Zachariah Talbert-Young jailed for 34 years

A man who killed a teenager just meters from his home in an attack thought to have been motivated by gang rivalry has been sentenced to life in prison.

Eddie Kinuthia, 19, was ambushed and stabbed multiple times in St Pauls, Bristol, in July 2023, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Zachariah Talbert-Young person found guilty of murder, Dressed in black, he rode an electric bike to a community event and attacked Mr Kinuthia, who died in hospital from a leg injury.

The 27-year-old man from Easton was also found guilty of attempting to murder another teenager, Nathan Williams, while out on bail and was sentenced to a minimum of 34 years in prison for both offences.

Paul Hayden, 22, of Hanham, was also sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison for the attempted murder of Nathan Williams. he was pre-cleaned For killing Mr Kinuthia.

During the trial the jury was told that 150 people attended a community event in St Paul’s on July 21.

The hearing was told that two masked men dressed in black, one of whom was Talbert-Young, arrived on an electric bike and stabbed Mr Kinuthia up to six times.

The fatal injury was a five-inch stab wound to his thigh, which severed his femoral artery and caused “catastrophic blood loss”, the judge said.

Mr Kinuthia’s mother, Irene Muthemba, gave an emotional witness statement in court, urging those involved in knife crime to “choose love over hate”.

“Eddie deserved to grow up, learn from his mistakes, and explore the world. You didn’t give him that chance,” he said.

“We have seen enough bloodshed in our streets.

“To your friends who think what you did was nice, I implore you to tell them it was sad and weak. Tell them it was shameful and disgusting.

“Tell them it’s not nice to carry a knife because you’re sitting behind glass.”

Addressing the defendants directly from the stand, Ms Muthemba called for more young black people to stand on the other side of the glass as lawyers.

“Imagine your parents going to buy you those suits for your graduation instead of a murder trial,” he said.

“You can rest assured that you won’t need these for a long, long time. I hope one day you will tell me personally why you took my child’s life, in your own real words. I can’t wait for that day.”

The judge, Mr Justice Pepperall, said Mr Kinuthia’s death was related to a postcode war between gangs in Bristol (1-6s and 2-4s) and said “the feud came at a huge cost in a senseless round of tit-for-tat killings”.

Talbert-Young was closely associated with the 1-6 group in east Bristol, while Mr Kinuthia appeared to be regularly in the company of members of the 2-4 group, which had links to St Paul’s.

Concurrently, Talbert-Young must serve at least 34 years in prison for the murder of Mr. Kinuthia and 20 years for the attempted murder of Mr. Williams.