Messages threatening to 'mash' and “exterminate” rivals were exchanged between teenagers accused of the killing of a 14-year-old boy in the weeks before his death, a court heard.
Gordon Gault died on November 15 last year from a knife would said to have been inflicted six days earlier by Carlos Neto in a clash involving several teenagers in the West End of Newcastle.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that another youth who was with Gordon was also stabbed in the incident, in the Elswick area, but survived.
Six teenagers, including 18-year-old Neto, are accused of Gordon’s murder and the attempted murder of his associate.
Although the prosecution in the trial state that Neto inflicted the fatal blow and the serious injury upon the other youth, all six are said to have played a part in the attack, having gone to Elswick seeking revenge for an attack on one of their number, Benedict Mbala, earlier in the day outside Gateshead College.
The attack was glorified on subsequent social media posts, which was said to have led to the “revenge” mission by the accused group.
Evidence on the second day of the trial revolved around messaging between the accused in the weeks prior to the incident.
In their Snapchat group they discussed their rivalries with other groups, referred to as “opps”, and who was “on the list” to be attacked, plus some of the weapons they had, or wished to have, including “rambos” and “chetes” (knives).
Terminology featured in the messages was outlined to the jurors, who were also provided with a glossary of the meaning of some of the expressions used.
These included expressions such as 'mash' to attack or kill rivals, 'chinga', for stab or stabbing, and 'smoked', also meaning attacked or killed.
In them Neto boasted that: “I don’t lose fights” and that he was told he had “opps” who he didn’t even know he had.
He described it as, “a kill or be killed world” and claimed he would “exterminate” some of Gordon Gault’s group of friends.
Another group member spoke of the feuding and violence as, “character building” and claimed to be “excited” by it, pledging there would be “no remorse” shown to enemies.
Close circuit tv footage was then played to the jury showing some of the movements of the participants on the lead up to the fatal incident.
It including footage of the attack on Mbala outside his college, taken on mobile phones by his attackers, earlier on November 9, plus cctv of him and one of his co-accused, plus three other unknown figures, wandering around Newcastle city centre seeking his assailants, in which he could be heard to say: “Where the f*** are they, man?”
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The six defendants, who deny charges of murder and attempted murder, include 18-year-olds Carlos Neto, of Manchester Road, Manchester, Benedict Mbala, of St John’s Walk, Newcastle, Lawson Natty, of Eastgarth, Newbiggin Hall Estate, Newcastle, and Daniel Lacerda, of Paddock Close, Ferryhill, County Durham.
Other defendants, aged 16 and 17, are unable to be identified because of their ages.
The trial, expected to last up to six weeks, continues tomorrow (Friday November 17).
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