Teenager cleared of Gosforth murder

David Savage was stabbed outside his home in September last year.

Published 28th Nov 2016

A teenager accused of stabbing a man to death after sleeping with his partner at a party in Gosforth has been cleared.

18 year old Callum Hackett always denied murdering 42 year old dad of two David Savage, outside the older man's house back in September last year.

Then aged 17, Hackett had been asked into the party and went to bed with Mr Savage's long-term girlfriend.

It was alleged he had left the party but when he returned to fetch his gloves, violence broke out, and he was then said to have come back a second time armed with a knife.

But the jury at Newcastle Crown Court found him not guilty of murder and a charge of manslaughter.

The trial had been told that he blamed another person for striking the lethal blows during the incident in September 2015.

As the verdicts were read out, Hackett collapsed in the dock and family members in the public gallery burst into tears