Murder trial into Leeds teenager's death to get underway - while three suspects remain at large
A man will face trial this week charged with the murder of teenager Jamie Meah, while three other suspects are still on the run.
Raniei Wilks, 23, will appear at Leeds Crown Court this Monday, January 6, where he will be tried over the death of Mr Meah in Armley.
But three further suspects in the killing - Aquade Jeffers, Caleb Awe and Enham Nishat - remain at large, despite numerous appeals to locate them by West Yorkshire Police.
They are thought to be hiding abroad.
Jamie Meah, 18, died in hospital after being fatally stabbed in an attack at the junction of Hall Lane and Brentwood Terrace in Armley on Friday, March 31, 2023.
A 16-year-old boy, who was travelling with Jamie in a taxi before the attack, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Following a police appeal, Wilks was arrested at Leeds Bradford Airport after stepping off a flight from Turkey more than a year after Mr Meah’s death.
He denies murder and attempted murder of the 16-year-old, along with possession of a knife. The trial is expected to last up to two weeks.
The family of Jamie Meah had recently renewed the appeal to trace the remaining three suspects on the birthday of Mr Meah’s baby boy. The youngster was born almost eight months after Mr Meah died.
His family said: “The heartache of losing Jamie is something that continues to stay with us every day since his murder.
“Today is the first birthday of his son and while this is a cause for celebration it is also, for us, a painful reminder that Jamie is not here to be a part of his son’s life, and never will be.
“Although he is just still a baby, at some point in his life he will want to know where his dad is and what happened to him, and it breaks our hearts to think about that.
“We desperately want to see justice for Jamie, and we hope that anyone who has information that could help the police investigation will think about what we are still going through as a family and do the right thing.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact HMET via 101 quoting Operation Plunket, reference 13230180255, or online at livechat.