Teenager pleads not guilty to murder of Peterborough 16-year-old as two defendants set to stand trial
A Peterborough teenager has pleaded not guilty to the murder of 16-year-old of Baye Bireme Fall.
Emidas Krutkevicius, 18, of Garton End Road, Peterborough, appeared at Huntingdon Law Courts on Tuesday morning (May 19) charged with the murder of 16-year-old Baye Bireme Fall.
Baye died just after 9.30pm on Sunday, April 12 after being attacked near the Orton Centre and Riseholme in Orton Goldhay just before 7pm that evening. A post mortem examination found that he died from a single stab wound
The court heard on Tuesday that Baye suffered a significant and narrow stab wound to the back, which was 12.5cm deep.
Krutkevicius appeared in front of Judge Mark Bishop and could be seen smiling at times throughout the hearing. He dressed in a grey jumper and tracksuit bottoms and spoke to confirm his name and date of birth before entering a plea of not guilty to charge of murder.
A 15-year-old boy, who can not be named for legal reasons, has also been charged with murder. He appeared in court via video link but did not enter a plea at the hearing.
Defence barrister Matthew Radstone told the court that further evaluations and mental health determinations were required to establish if his client was fit to be arraigned.
The boy’s case is due to be listed for mention again on June 19 with the possibility of a plea being entered on that date if he is deemed fit to do so.
Mr Radstone went on to make an application for bail on behalf of the 15-year-old but this was swiftly rejected.
In his submission, Mr Radstone said that the boy had “strong family ties with parents who are fundamentally in support of their son."
He added that: “He is a 15-year-old boy facing the gravest of allegations. It is extremely serious but that ought not necessarily be the determining factor in refusing this young man bail when he has no previous convictions.
"A prolonged stay where he is currently being held could cause emotional distress and turmoil for someone who has never experienced the criminal justice system before.
"He is progressing well where he currently is and feedback from all professionals has been positive.”
An application was also made by the defence to delay the set trial date of October 12 to November due to issues of availability of counsel and in the interest of maintaining continuity.
Judge Bishop ruled against breaking the fixed timetable due to concerns about the trial being seriously interrupted by a large break over the Christmas period. The trial is set to be concluded within six weeks.
He said: “This is a custody time limit case and the custody time limits expire on October 15.
"The trial must not run any risk of being broken up by the Christmas period. Murder trials always carry a risk of going slower than expected and hitting problems. The trial will likely go slower in this case given the age of the defendants.
"There is also adequate time for relationships to be rebuilt if any changes of counsel are required.”
The trial is therefore still scheduled to begin on October 12.
Both defendants were remanded back into custody following the conclusion of the hearing.