Three teenagers convicted following the death of a 17-year-old boy

One teenager from the Manchester and Salford area has been found guilty of murder and two other teenagers have been found guilty of manslaughter today at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court following a nine-week trial.

The 17-year-old victim, Alan Szelugowski, had been friends with the three teenagers for some time, but the friendship with one of the group had broken down.

The two estranged friends had been texting and speaking with each other and agreed to meet on the 29 January 2022 at Clowes Park in Salford to sort out the issues between them.

Alan Szelugowski went to the park as agreed around 6.20pm, as did one of the 17-year olds but he did not come alone as agreed, he brought the other two youths with him.

The prosecution case was that the three young men jointly attacked Alan Szelugowski and left him for dead.

Two dog walkers found Alan Szelugowski the following morning and raised the alarm but sadly it was too late, and Alan had died.

The pathologist later confirmed he had suffered 20 stab wounds to his chest, face, head and legs and died as a result of the blood loss.

The police were able to track down the three youths using CCTV to find the car they had travelled to the park in, and various footage and forensic evidence to link the three young men to the car and the attack.

In interview one youth told the police he had no knowledge of the attack but later admitted that he had stabbed Alan Szelugowski a number of times, but claimed it was in self-defence. The other two youths accepted they had been present but denied taking any part in the attack, with one saying he tried to stop it.

The three teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will be sentenced on 22 December 2022.

Lucy Scully, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West’s Complex Casework Unit, said: “Alan Szelugowski was subjected to a brutal attack and then left for dead. 

“With no eyewitnesses to the fatal stabbing the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) worked with Greater Manchester Police to build a strong case including forensic evidence, detailed mobile phone analysis, CCTV and mobile phone location data to piece together the movements of all the young men. After considering all the evidence, the jury found one teenager guilty of murder and two other teenagers guilty of manslaughter.

“Nothing can make up for the loss of Alan, but I hope following today’s verdicts Alan’s family can begin to move forward. Our thoughts remain with them.”