An inquest has ruled that school boy Yousef Makki was unlawfully killed after being stabbed in the heart by his friend Joshua Molnar during a argument over a drug deal which had gone wrong in Hale Barns, near Altrincham on March 9th 2019. Yousef tragically died in hospital shortly after. The Coroner overturned the previous findings of an inquest which did not take the full evidence into account. Molnar had claimed self defence during a three-month long trial in 2019 and was cleared of both the murder and manslaughter of Makki. A previous hearing ruled out both murder and manslaughter as the reasons for Yousef's death as the coroner could not be sure of the events of what happened on that fateful night. Makki's family who reside in Burnage in Manchester were granted a judicial review in 2022 after challenges were made on the insufficient evidence presented on the central issue of whether the youth was unlawfully killed. Coroner Geraint Williams said Mr Molnar was not acting in lawful self defence, adding: "what he did amounts to manslaughter." In a lengthy ruling, he concluded Yousef did not have a knife at the time of his death as claimed, and Molnar had not acted in self-defence and did not believe he needed to use a knife to defend himself. “I find as a fact Yousef Makki did not use a knife to threaten or attack Joshua Molnar," Mr Williams said. “I also find use of a knife unnecessary, disproportionate and unreasonable. I conclude he did not act in lawful self-defence. “Therefore, I conclude that Mr Makki was unlawfully killed is fully made out by the evidence.” Mr Williams added that the evidence did not show Molnar intended to kill or cause serious harm to Yousef and that it does not amount to murder. Lawyers for Yousef’s family said: "This has been a very long journey for the family. Nothing will bring Yousef back." It is thought that the Crown Prosecution Service and Greater Manchester Police will now look at all the evidence again following the unlawful killing conclusion.
