A jury at the High Court in Glasgow acquitted two teenagers of murder charges on July 6, 2026, following the fatal stabbing of 15-year-old Amen Teklay with a sword last year.
The male defendants, now aged 16 and 17, were found not guilty of the March 5, 2025, attack on Clarendon Street in the Maryhill area.
Teklay suffered an unsurvivable heart wound during the incident.
Jurors reached the verdict on their second day of deliberations after hearing evidence of a violent feud between Teklay and the 16-year-old that originated from a 2024 drug dispute.
The 16-year-old defendant admitted to striking Teklay but maintained he acted in self-defense when Teklay allegedly ambushed them with a knife.
"It was ridiculous, I was 14 - I didn't know," said the 16-year-old defendant regarding social media videos of him holding the blade.
The younger teenager expressed regret over his past actions before explaining the night of the confrontation.
"I look back now and I was very stupid. I don't know why I did that stuff," said the 16-year-old defendant.
Prosecutor Adrian Stalker challenged the self-defense claim during the trial, describing the incident as a coordinated search for the victim.
"Do you think when he (the 16-year-old) stabbed Amen he didn't know where he was stabbing and not know where he was going for?"
asked Adrian Stalker, Prosecutor.
Stalker further argued that the co-defendant was fully aware of the violent risks involved in the encounter.
"Must have realised there was a strong risk he would be getting involved in an encounter where someone could be seriously hurt and still chose to do it," said Adrian Stalker, Prosecutor.
Stalker also highlighted a violent pattern by referencing an encounter outside the Lismore bar days before the killing.
"Three days before Amen Teklay is killed, (the 16-year-old) ran along the road chasing him with the sword that he ultimately used to kill Amen Teklay," said Adrian Stalker, Prosecutor.
The defense team argued that Teklay actively pursued the teenagers on the night of his death.
"It's Ramadan, we don't need to do this," said Brian McConnachie KC, Defense Counsel for the 16-year-old.
McConnachie asserted that Teklay's own aggressive actions directly led to the fatal confrontation.
"Amen Teklay was the author of his own misfortune," said Brian McConnachie KC, Defense Counsel for the 16-year-old.
The defense counsel maintained that the 16-year-old had no other viable choices during the street fight.
"Whatever this was, it was not murder.
It was self-defence, and no crime was committed at all, or alternatively, it is what we call culpable homicide by virtue of provocation," said Brian McConnachie KC, Defense Counsel for the 16-year-old.
Meanwhile, the legal representative for the 17-year-old stressed his client's complete lack of involvement in the physical assault.
"No motive… and crucially no knife," said Iain McSporran KC, Defense Counsel for the 17-year-old.
McSporran argued that mere presence at the scene of the crime did not equate to legal guilt.
"Did not lay a finger on Amen Teklay," said Iain McSporran KC, Defense Counsel for the 17-year-old.
Following the delivery of the verdicts, Lord Colbeck thanked the members of the jury for their service and discharged them.
