Men jailed for life for killing boy in crack den

Two men have been jailed for life for murdering a 16 year-old boy in a Wolverhampton flat.

Terrell Marshall-Williams was stabbed repeatedly with a "Rambo" knife at the property - known as a crack den - on Warnford Walk, Merry Hill.

Omari Lauder, 24, of Wolverhampton Street, Darlaston, was jailed for a minimum of 24 years.

Mpho Obi, 23, of Strathfield Walk, Merry Hill, was told he would serve a minimum of 28 years.

They were also found guilty of possessing an offensive weapon during their trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Prosecutor Tim Hannan KC said Terrell had been "moving in a dangerous and unpleasant world" and that young people would use the flat to "hang out and take drugs".

"Whether they went there to buy, deal or steal drugs, or for some other reason, only they can say," he said of the defendants.

Terrell was already at the flat with a friend on 18 September 2023 when the two men arrived, armed with the knife, police said.

They stabbed him several times and he died at the scene.

CCTV footage showed Lauder and Obi discarding clothing, drugs and a mobile phone in a field and police found a blood-stained knife nearby.

After Obi's arrest, police found a message on his phone boasting he had stabbed someone.

Lauder was also spotted on CCTV being dropped off at home by a taxi where a trail of his own blood was discovered leading to his front door.

He was arrested two days later at Walsall Manor Hospital while seeking treatment, where he had told medics he impaled himself on a fence while being chased by a dog.

Obi admitted possessing with intent to supply both heroin and crack cocaine before the trial, for which he was sentenced to five years and seven months to run concurrently.

Meanwhile Lauder was found not guilty of possession of class A drugs during a four-week trial which finished in May.

Det Insp Dan Jarratt said he welcomed the sentences.

"We hope it goes some way towards helping his heartbroken family come to terms with what has happened and allow them to begin to rebuild their lives," he said.

"They conducted themselves impeccably and with dignity throughout the trial.

"This case is yet another stark reminder of the deadly consequences of carrying knives."

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