Boy, 14, killed on bus was ‘stabbed almost instantaneously with machetes’

Kelyan Bokassa, 14, suffered a severed artery and died at the scene (Picture: PA; UKNIP)

A schoolboy who was fatally stabbed up to 27 times on a bus was set upon ‘almost instantaneously’ by his killers, a court has heard.

Kelyan Bokassa, 14, was attacked as he rode a bus towards his home in Woolwich, south-east London, on the afternoon of January 7.

Two boys, aged 15 and 16, allegedly tracked him down and used ‘lengthy machetes’ to ‘stab or attempt to stab’ him 27 times.

An artery in Kelyan’s thigh was severed during the attack, and he bled to death shortly after paramedics arrived.

One of the machetes was thrown into the River Thames afterwards, the Old Bailey heard.

Prosecutor Tom Little KC said Keylan was sitting on the back seat of the bus when his alleged killers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, boarded.

He said: ‘It is clear this is not a form of spontaneous incident. The two defendants must have known the deceased was on the bus.

Kelyan was stabbed to death in front of horrified passengers (Picture: AFP)

‘They approach him and almost instantaneously the two of them pull out machetes and attacked the deceased.

‘He is stabbed or attempted to be stabbed on a total of 27 occasions before the defendants made their way off the bus.’

On Monday the 15-year-old defendant appeared via videolink from Feltham Young Offender Institution and spoke only to confirm his identity.

He was remanded into custody, while the 16-year-old was set to arrive in court later on Monday.

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