THE TEENAGER who quarreled with Kidlington electrician Alex Innes over a £100 debt before stabbing him in the heart has been convicted of murder.

Greg ‘Gino’ Muinami was not present in court on Friday afternoon to hear jurors find him guilty of murder and possession of a blade, having declined to come to Oxford Crown Court from prison.

The 19-year-old had denied involvement in the fatal stabbing of Mr Innes outside the Love Jericho cocktail bar in Walton Street in the early hours of November 13 last year.

But he failed to give any explanation for his actions either to the police, choosing to answer no comment when he was interviewed by detectives following his arrest, or to the jury.

He did not give evidence in his own defence and was largely absent from the dock when his co-defendant, Michael Oluyitan, was the only one of the stabbers to go into the witness box during the trial.

Judge Ian Pringle KC, the Recorder of Oxford, fixed the sentencing for July 21.

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David Hislop KC, defending, asked for the month-long adjournment to enable a psychological report to be obtained about Muinami. “We now have concerns about his level of maturity,” he told the judge.

Muinami’s three co-defendants, Michael Oluyitan, Bradley Morton and Keyarno Johnson-Allen, all 19, were acquitted of murder, manslaughter and possession of knives.

The trio could be seen on CCTV chasing Mr Innes down Walton Street after he had been stabbed in the chest, but variously claimed they were acting in defence of themselves or others after seeing the older man pick up a glass or had acted out of concern for Mr Innes.

Oluyitan held his head in his hands as he learned he had been cleared of all counts. Morton kept his hands clasped in front of him. Johnson-Allen left the dock soon after hearing the verdict, with a smile on his face.

Following the verdicts, Judge Pringle commended the effort that had gone into the ‘difficult’ investigation and named particularly the senior investigating officer DCI Jon Capps, officer in the case DS Stephanie Barras-Thompson and CCTV officer Mark McMurdo.

He thanked the jury, saying he would give them a letter exempting them from jury service for five years.

Before the 12-members of the jury had come back into court to deliver their verdicts after deliberating for three days, Judge Pringle warned the defendants’ family members in the public gallery: “This case has obviously produced strong feelings.

“When the jury come back in, however, we are to take these verdicts in respectful silence.

“There will be no shouting out, no cheering or jeering. Respectful silence.”

Muinami, of Cranham Street, Jericho, will be sentenced in a months’ time. By law, the judge will be required to impose a life sentence.

Sentencing guidelines indicate that where a knife has been used to carry out a murder, a minimum tariff of 25 years behind bars should also be imposed.

Following the hearing, senior investigator DCI Jon Capps praised Mr Innes' family - describing their ordeal as 'every parent's worst nightmare'.