Knife killer jailed for murder of Birmingham teenager
Abdirahaman Yussuf stabbed Yahya Sharif in Small Heath in December 2021.
Last updated 24th Feb 2023
A killer has been jailed for life for the murder of a teenager on one of Birmingham’s busiest roads in rush hour.
Yahya Sharif had pulled on to the pavement in Coventry Road, Small Heath, when he was ambushed on 10 December 2021.
The 18-year-old was stabbed once in the chest, collapsing moments later and dying at the scene.
Following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court last year, Abdirahaman Yussuf, 20, from Yardley was found guilty of murder. Today, he's been sentenced to life in prison to serve a minimum of 22 years.
During the trial, the court heard how CCTV captured a group chatting nearby in the moments before the attack, and then heading towards the victim’s BMW when he pulled up.
The men, some of them masked, approached Mr Sharif, who turned and was immediately stabbed by Yussuf.
Officers recovered a knife from a street nearby, and following a public appeal for help in finding Yussuf, he was arrested in London in February 2021.
Hidden in an envelope in his sock were handwritten rap lyrics apparently referencing the stabbing.
Three other men with him at the time had denied a charge of murder on the basis they all acted together and they were found not guilty following the trial at Birmingham Crown Court. A fifth man was acquitted during the trial.
Det Insp Hannah Whitehouse, leading the investigation, said: “Yussuf attacked Mr Sharif without warning or provocation and sadly, the motive for this killing may never be clear.’’
Before sentencing today the court heard personal statements from Yahya’s parents. His father said: “I feel pain when I see boys the same age as my son going out, driving a car, going to school, working, talking about university and walking with their fathers. Yahya was a bright boy with a great future ahead of him.
”All his teachers loved him. From a young age he was driven and doing good within our community.”
His mother said: “There are many times I have not been able to sit in court because of flashbacks from the day my son died. I still don't know why my son was killed. Saying sorry will not bring my child back. I can never move on, my life is destroyed.
“My son should still be alive and I miss him every single day. Yahya meant the world to me and I dreamed of seeing him getting married and meeting my future grandchildren. All of this has been taken away from me and his brothers and sisters.”