Stevenage man guilty of murdering schoolboy
Patrick Sharp-Meade will be sentenced next week for stabbing Kajetan Migdal, who'd just been to a school prom
A 20-year-old man from Stevenage has been found guilty of the murder of schoolboy Kajetan Migdal, following a trial at Luton Crown Court which ended today (Thursday 9 May).
Patrick Sharp-Meade of Cutty’s Lane in Stevenage accepted that he had stabbed and killed Kajetan, but denied murder.
It took the jury of six men and six women just over 24 hours to reach their verdict.
On Friday 27 May 2022, Kajetan and three friends, who attended St John Henry Newman School in Stevenage, had been at their school prom and were changing their clothes at his car, which was parked in Cutty’s Lane, before heading into Cambridge for the remainder of the night.
Wearing a balaclava and carrying a large zombie knife concealed down his trousers, Sharp-Meade confronted the boys believing they were the group who he had heard talking to his ex-girlfriend when she had phoned whilst on her way to his flat a few minutes earlier. After asking Kajetan if he was ‘from these ends’ Sharp-Meade then pulled out the knife and stabbed him, delivering a fatal wound to the heart. Kajetan died in hospital in the early hours of the next morning.
Kajetan and his friends had never met Sharp-Meade before that night and did not know his ex-girlfriend.
After the stabbing Sharp-Meade returned to his flat and hid the knife in his mattress. He left the scene but was traced by the police and quickly arrested.
In court he pleaded guilty to possessing the knife and a small number of wraps of cocaine that were found in his shoe during his arrest.
Sharp-Meade will be sentenced on Friday 17 May.
Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins from the Major Crime Unit said: “This has been a devastating case for everyone involved. Kajetan was celebrating a milestone moment in his life and was looking forward to attending university after the summer break. He was a bright young man who had his whole life ahead of him. He was a fantastic dancer and a wonderful son and brother.
“My team have worked tirelessly to get justice for Kajetan’s family and friends, who we have supported throughout this case. This was a senseless act of violence, which resulted in a young man being killed in cold blood because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, by an enraged teenager who imagined a situation that simply did not exist.
“Although nothing can change what has happened, I hope now the family and the community can finally have closure around the judicial process.
“Knife crime can have an absolutely devastating effect on families and communities as this case sadly illustrates. Hertfordshire Constabulary is committed to tackling knife crime, apprehending and prosecuting those who commit knife related offences and educating the community about the impact of choosing to carry knives.”