Teen who killed boy over £20 debt convicted of murder

A teenager has been found guilty of murdering a 16-year-old boy over a £20 cannabis debt.

Joshua Ingram was attacked by the teenager with a 19cm (7.5 inch) combat-style knife at Seaford railway station in East Sussex on 10 September 2025.

A jury at Hove Crown Court convicted the 16-year-old on Wednesday after two days of deliberations.

Joshua's family said his death showed the "devastating consequences" of teenage knife crime, and have urged young people to "choose a different path".

Joshua's killer, who cannot be named due to his age, had previously pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of manslaughter, calling the incident a "tragic and reckless moment".

He was also found, alongside two other boys aged 15 and 17, not guilty of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm with intent.

All three boys will be sentenced in October.

The 15-year-old boy was found guilty of assisting an offender, which the 17-year-old had previously admitted to.

In a tribute released by the family of Joshua after his death, they described him as a "cheeky chappie who was loved by many" and who was taken "far too soon".

Following the verdicts, his parents Yvette Bullen and Dave Ingram, and wider family, said in a statement: "We see all too often in the news these days of teen-on-teen knife crime."

In their statement, read by British Transport Police Det Chief Insp Paul Stanley, they said: "We hope Josh's story serves as a reminder of the devastating consequences of knife crime.

"Too many of these incidents result in loss of life. This reckless behaviour devastates countless lives."

Joshua was two days into starting a brick-laying course at college, which his friends on the course told his family that he "took to it like a duck to water".

They added: "Whilst today's verdict brings a measure of justice to our family, it will never bring Josh back, and no sentence, however long, will ever replace the precious life that was stolen from him, or heal the devastating loss to our family."

The court heard that in June 2025, the 16-year-old attacker sent a message on Snapchat using an expletive and homophobic language to say Joshua owed him "a £20 sheet".

A Snapchat message from the teenager which was read to the court said "Josh will perish" if he didn't pay a debt, adding: "That's a fact and he knows this."

Jurors were shown CCTV footage which showed the teenager approaching the railway station, entering the platform and attacking Joshua before leaving the scene.

Defence lawyers for the 16-year-old tried to characterise the messages as an "immature young man trying to impress his friends".

Joshua, from Newhaven, died after being stabbed twice, in the back and side, outside the railway station.

A Seaford woman who gave evidence to the trial told the jury how she saw two boys from her kitchen window who appeared "very agitated".

One of the boys said to her "my best friend has just stabbed somebody in Seaford", she said.

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