17-year-old boy accused of murdering grammar school pupil Yousef Makki to appear in court

A 17-year-old boy accused of murdering a grammar school pupil in a knife attack is to appear in court today.
17-year-old Yousef Ghaleb Makki from Burnage17-year-old Yousef Ghaleb Makki from Burnage
17-year-old Yousef Ghaleb Makki from Burnage

The youngster, who cannot be named because of his age, is charged with the murder of Yousef Makki, also aged 17, who was knifed to death in Hale Barns, a leafy village south of Manchester, popular with top footballers and celebrities.

Police were called at around 6.40pm on Saturday March 2 to Gorse Bank Road in the village, and Yousef was rushed to hospital where he died a short time later.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

His alleged killer, who is privately educated and comes from a wealthy family, is on bail and scheduled to appear at a plea hearing at Manchester Crown Court this morning.

17-year-old Yousef Ghaleb Makki from Burnage17-year-old Yousef Ghaleb Makki from Burnage
17-year-old Yousef Ghaleb Makki from Burnage

The victim, from an Anglo-Lebanese family living in Burnage, Manchester, had dreamed of becoming a heart surgeon and won a scholarship to attend the prestigious £12,000-a-year Manchester Grammar School.

The defendant was granted bail during a hearing held in private last month, with the press excluded from the hearing.

His bail conditions were later made public following representations made by the Press Association, Daily Mail, The Times, The Sun and the Manchester Evening News.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

His bail conditions are that he must live and sleep each night at a specified address, which has not been made public, observe an electronically monitored curfew between 6pm and 8am, not contact any witnesses or co-defendant, not apply for international travel documents, surrender his passport and be supervised by his local Youth Offending Team.

He must also not enter Greater Manchester except to attend court or see his legal team or engage in any social media in relation to the case.

Also as a mandatory condition of bail for those accused of murder, he must undergo examination by two doctors to determine his mental condition for the preparation of reports.

Police made a second arrest of another 17-year-old at the time of Yousef's murder.

The second youth, who also cannot be identified because of his age, is accused of assisting an offender and possession of a knife.

He is due to appear at Manchester Magistrates' Court later this week.