Gordon Gault death: Newcastle murder-accused teens 'acted together'

Six youths accused of murdering a 14-year-old boy were "in it together", prosecutors have said.

Gordon Gault died in hospital six days after being struck with a machete in Newcastle in November 2022.

Six youths, now aged 16 to 18, deny murder and wounding a 17-year-old boy.

In his closing speech, prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC told Newcastle Crown Court it was "joint enterprise" with all six seeking revenge on a rival as part of "tit for tat violence".

Jurors have heard a feud between two rival groups of youths in Newcastle began in the summer of 2022 with them making rap videos mocking each other.

Gordon was fatally wounded by Carlos Neto, 18, on 9 November after the defendant and his five co-accused went to "enemy territory" in Elswick to avenge an earlier attack on one of their number, Mr Sandiford said.

Mr Neto has admitted striking Gordon, who was armed with a baseball bat and riding pillion on a bike, with a machete but claimed he was acting in self-defence.

Mr Sandiford said the defendants had "chosen to immerse themselves" in a "violent feud", adding: "None of this was self-defence."

He said while Mr Neto wounded Gordon and the 17-year-old victim, all six defendants were "in it together" and shared a "common desire" for revenge and to at least seriously injure a rival.

"This was a joint enterprise," Mr Sandiford said, adding they were "supporting" and "fortifying" each other.

Two of the defendants, aged 16 and 17, are unable to be identified because of their age. The others, who are all 18, are:

The prosecutor cited "chilling" messages and rap lyrics written by Mr Neto in which the youth said a "murder [was] going to happen" and how he was "going for kills".

Mr Sandiford said the teenager "made no secret of his intention to stab and, if he could, kill" rivals.

He said all of the defendants, with the exception of the 16-year-old who did not have a phone, were involved in a group chat discussing violence and sourcing weapons in the weeks before the attack.

Several also exchanged messages and wrote raps songs afterwards, the court heard.

In the aftermath, Mr Neto wrote about how he went "mad" and "crazy" which appeared to be the words of "somebody who rather enjoyed and revelled in what they had done", Mr Sandiford said, "not somebody in extremis having to defend themselves against lethal force".

Mr Sandiford said other defendants also wrote raps songs about Gordon's killing, including a line by Mr Natty saying they got "instant GB [get back]" for an attack on Mr Mbala earlier on 9 November.

Mr Mbala wrote a lyric saying witnesses to the stabbings "would have thought [Mr Neto] worked in a butcher's", which Mr Sandiford said was a "graphic picture painted with words if there was ever one".

The prosecutor said the messages and lyrics gave an "insight into what was going on in November last year".

The trial continues.

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