A teenager has been convicted of a "brutal and senseless" stabbing of a 17-year-old boy outside a bus station.
Bennett Ndenkeh, 19, was found guilty of the murder of Thomas Taylor, who was stabbed to death on Wednesday, January 8, 2025.
At around 5.50pm, a group of teenagers launched an attack on Taylor and two others in Greenhill Street, escalating when Ndenkeh produced a knife and fatally stabbed Taylor.
A second teenager, 18-year-old Riaz Miah, was found not guilty of murder but convicted of manslaughter in connection with the incident.
BEDFORDSHIRE POLICE
|Bennett Ndenkeh has been found guilty following a trial
BEDFORDSHIRE POLIXE
|Riaz Miah, was found not guilty of murder but convicted of manslaughter
Ndenkeh, of Midland Road, Bedford, and Miah, of Foster Hill Road, Bedford, were convicted following a seven-week trial at Luton Crown Court and are due to be sentenced on October 10.
During the trial, the court heard how Miah had been assaulted by someone linked to Thomas in the days before the stabbing.
On the day itself, Miah and Thomas exchanged messages, with Thomas warning against retaliation, before agreeing to meet in the town centre where the fatal altercation took place.
Emergency services were called to the scene in Greenhill Street and Thomas was taken to hospital, where he died shortly after arrival.
PA/BEDFORDSHIRE POLICE
| Thomas Taylor was pronounced dead in hospitalThe offenders dispersed minutes after the stabbing and left the town centre, Ndenkeh took a taxi, and Miah was picked up in a friend’s car.
Detectives from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit used CCTV to help identify the teenagers and track their movements leading up to the attack and as they fled.
Both Ndenkeh and Miah were arrested within three days of the murder.
Officers recovered a number of suspicious messages on seized devices, including one from Miah telling someone else who was at the altercation to "no comment everything" just hours before his arrest.
PA | Floral tributes near Greenhill Street, close to Bedford bus station, following the stabbing of Thomas Taylor
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Stott, who led the investigation said: "This was a brutal and senseless act of violence that has ended the life of a young man who had so many years and experiences still in front of him and devasted the lives of those who knew him.
"Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time. It has also drastically altered the path of the two people found guilty today, who are now facing the prospect of spending many of the prime years of their life behind bars.
"The tragic death of Thomas shows the ripple effect that choosing to carry a weapon can have not just on the person who carries one.
"It is a dangerous myth that carrying a knife offers protection or power, as in reality, it only increases the risk of serious harm, both to the person carrying it and to everyone around them.
"We urge anyone thinking of picking up a weapon, or supporting those who do, to think twice, and Just Drop It to help prevent more lives from being needlessly cut short or forever ruined."