Four men jailed for life for murder of Salford teenager
17-year-old Josiah Norman was hit by a car and attacked by a group of men while walking down the street in April 2021
Four men have been jailed for life for the murder of a teenager in a 'sustained and targeted' attack in Salford in April 2021.
Josiah Norman, 17, was hit by a car and attacked by a group of men while walking down the street.
Mr Norman later died in hospital from a single stab wound to his chest.
19-year-old Dillon Saunders of Stowell Street, Salford, had denied murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter but was found guilty of murder after a trial at Manchester Crown Court in November 2021.
19-year-old Kellan Gummery of Bridson Street, Salford; 18-year-old Mickel Liburd of Barff Road, Salford; and 18-year-old Kaylan Crankshaw of Dauntesey Avenue, Salford; had pleaded guilty to murder at a previous hearing.
Crankshaw and Saunders were jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 21 years each at Manchester Crown Court while Gummery will have to serve a minimum of 18 years and Liburd a minimum of15 years.
Mr Norman had been walking along on Peveril Road with a friend at about 8pm on Wednesday 21 April 2021.
The pair were approached by a white Fiat 500 driven by Gummery with Liburd in the passenger seat.
Both men got out of the car and Liburd attacked Mr Norman with what police believe to be a machete. Gummery then joined in armed with a shorter knife.
As he tried to escape, Mr Norman was hit by a second car, a blue Mini driven by Saunders.
Crankshaw then got out of the passenger seat of the Mini and attacked Mr Norman as he lay on the ground, with Liburd and Gummery joining in the attack.
At some point during the attack, Mr Norman received the fatal stab wound.
Mr Norman's friend returned to the scene to help and all three assailants left in the Fiat with the Mini also driven off by Saunders.
Mr Norman was given first aid at an address on Peveril Road and the emergency services were called.
But despite the efforts of paramedics, Mr Norman was pronounced dead at hospital about an hour after the attack.
As well as the fatal six-inch wound to his chest, Mr Norman had deep cuts on both legs, cuts to his back and hands, and several bruises.
The four men involved in the attack tried to cover their tracks by burning the two cars, which were found nearby on Mountford Street on 22 April.
Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Clegg, of GMP's Major Incident Team, said:
"This was a heinous crime, a sustained and targeted attack in broad daylight in which a young man has lost his life.
"The loss of Josiah has had an enormous impact on his family leaving a huge void - Josiah had his whole life in front of him.
"Fortunately this type of incident is extremely rare - when something like this does happen, GMP draws on all its resources to bring the perpetrators to justice."
Josiah's mother, Tracy, said:
"I am saddened by the impact knife crime has had on our communities and by the utter devastation caused not only to my family but the countless families that have been affected by events of that fateful night.
"There are no winners in this case and I wish that Josiah is remembered for the kind-hearted, happy-go-lucky, loving son that he was."