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A youth who bought the flick knife used in the fatal stabbing of public schoolboy Yousef Makki made a ‘concerted effort’ to wipe his mobile phone – ‘deleting 47 items’ – before it was seized by police, an inquest heard.

Coroner Geraint Williams suggested Yousef’s friend Adam Chowdhary, now 21, had been ‘disingenuous at best, dishonest at worst’ in what he told officers at the scene and in 999 calls.

He spoke at the opening of a new inquest into the death of 17-year-old Yousef, which began yesterday after a four-year legal battle by the teenager’s family.

Yousef, an A-Level student at £15,000-a-year Manchester Grammar School, died on the evening of March 2, 2019, while spending a weekend staying with Chowdhary in Hale Barns, an affluent Manchester suburb.

He was stabbed through the heart in a confrontation with Joshua Molnar, a mutual friend of himself and Chowdhary.

Yousef Makki’s sister Jade Akoum (left) with husband Marzen (right) have fought a lengthy legal battle to have Yousef’s case reopened

Joshua Molnar, 21, was cleared of murder and manslaughter following a trial in July 2019 on the grounds of self-defence, claiming Yousef also had a knife

Pete Weatherby KC, representing Yousef’s family, highlighted ‘inconsistencies’ in Chowdhary’s and Molnar’s accounts to police.

John Mulvihill, who was senior investigating officer at the incident for Greater Manchester Police, told the inquest: ‘Lies, as we call them.’

After the stabbing, police bodycam footage showed both youths claiming Yousef had been stabbed from a passing car, the inquest heard.

Chowdhary earlier told a 999 operator he didn’t know how the attack happened, and that the assailant had ‘got off’.

Retired Detective Inspector Mr Mulvihill said the pair were initially viewed only as witnesses, leading to a delay in taking their electronic devices. But they were later ‘elevated’ to suspects after officers became suspicious of their claims.

Mr Williams said: ‘Mr Chowdhary did make a concerted effort to delete his call history, deleting a minimum of 47 items from his phone. That’s correct?’ Mr Mulvihill replied: ‘Yes’.

Mr Weatherby added there might be ‘far from innocent reasons’ about why the phone was wiped.

Bodycam footage of Chowdhary speaking to police in his family home – when he claimed he did not see what happened to his friend because he was on his phone – showed him swiping at the device.

Yousef Makki, 17, died from a 5.5-inch stab wound through the heart in March 2019 after a confrontation with his friend Joshua Molnar

The inquest heard Chowdhary purchased two identical flick knives – two of the three knives found at the scene – online. A folding pen knife, belonging to Molnar, was also recovered.

Both flick knives were ordered by Chowdhary from abroad and delivered to the home of one of his friends, Mr Williams was told. One was found down a drain, the other – used to kill Yousef – was in a garden.

The inquest opened with Yousef’s sister Jade Akoum paying tribute to her ‘calm, peaceful, kind’ brother who ‘would never have used a weapon on somebody’.

Molnar, now 21, was cleared of murder and manslaughter in July 2019 on self-defence grounds, claiming Yousef also had a knife.

He was jailed for 16 months after admitting lying to police and possessing an offensive weapon.

Chowdhary received a four-month detention order in 2019 for admitting possessing an offensive weapon, and was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice. He is due to give evidence in person at the new inquest tomorrow.

The first inquest, in November 2021, reached a narrative verdict, with coroner Alison Mutch not satisfied Yousef’s death was accidental but ruling out unlawful killing.

In January, the High Court quashed the verdict after a challenge from Yousef’s family. Judges ruled they ‘could not be satisfied’ Ms Mutch had assessed all the evidence.

Paying tribute to A-Level student Yousef – who wanted to be a heart surgeon or dentist – his sister Jade Akoum said: ‘He was a very calm, peaceful, kind person; he was very intelligent, he loved his family and friends more than anything.’ Mrs Akoum, 33, added Yousef had been ‘inspirational’ to other young people and tutored younger pupils.

Coroner Geraint Williams asked Mrs Akoum: ‘You don’t think your brother had a knife on him on the day he died?

Mrs Akoum replied: ‘Yes’.

She accepted the coroner’s suggestion it was ‘conceivable’ he could have carried one of the knives found at the scene – as his family was also unaware that he had used cannabis and a benzodiazepine drug before he died – but she added: ‘I know for a fact he would never have used a weapon on somebody.’ Mrs Akoum appeared visibly upset as police bodycam footage from the scene was played, which briefly showed a dying Yousef being tended to by emergency services.

Molnar looked at the ground while sat in court with his father Mark as further bodycam footage showed him stood bare-chested in the street telling officers he used his t-shirt to stem Yousef’s bleeding.

Lisa Judge, representing Molnar, said her client ‘does not accept’ Yousef didn’t have a knife.

The inquest at Stockport Coroners’ Court, due to last at least a week, continues.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk

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