Teenagers sentenced to a total of 23 years after the murder of 14-year-old in Harpurhey

When you think of picking up a knife, think of Nathaniel Shani.

Nathaniel Shani was brutally murdered in September 2023 after he was fatally stabbed in Tavistock Square in Harpurhey.

A 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy who both cannot be named for legal reasons, have today been jailed for life and have both remanded into a Young Offenders Institute. The 15-year-old boy will serve a minimum term of 13 years in custody whilst the 14-year-old will have to serve a minimum of 10 years. 

Following a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court, both boys were found guilty of murder unanimously by the jury after both denying the charge.

The 15-year-old boy admitted he fatally stabbed Nathaniel in the neck but claimed in court he was acting in self-defence and the 14-year-old boy had 'encouraged' the other boy to fatally injure Nathaniel whist he was in the possession of a screwdriver.

On the evening of 23 September at around 6pm, emergency services attended the scene in Tavistock Square, Harpurhey, and found Nathaniel with serious injuries. Even with the best efforts of members of the public, officers who were first on the scene and paramedics who worked hard to save his life,  sadly this was not enough, and Nathaniel passed away later in hospital. 

14-year-old Air Cadet Nathaniel Shani

A murder investigation was quickly launched and led by Detective Chief Inspector Gina Brennand and her team in our Major Investigation Team. Their investigation included hundreds of hours of CCTV trawls and phone data analysis. The team quickly established what had happened during the evening of 23 September after finding incriminating conversations on snapchat messages with a full timeline of the events leading up to Nathaniel’s murder. 

Detective Chief Inspector Gina Brennand, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “Nathaniel’s family will never get over this tragic loss of life, a life that has been lost far too soon.

Nathaniel Shani

“Nathaniel was 14-years-old, a young man with dreams and aspirations, he enjoyed his cadets, Formula 1 and gaming. On the night of the murder, Nathaniel was ironing his cadet uniform and polishing his boots, something which he was immensely proud of, before he left the house and never returned.

“I’d like to thank the members of the public, especially the two community nurses who rushed to Nathaniel’s side and the paramedics and response police officers who also attended this incident to give Nathaniel CPR in an attempt to give him the best possible chance of life.

“I’d also like to extend this gratitude to the Major Incident Team detectives who have dedicated hundreds of hours to this case to ensure that Nathaniel’s family and friends received the answers they need to come to terms with their loss, we know this won’t bring him back – but hopefully it can provide at least some comfort knowing that those guilty have been sentenced to a total of 23 years.

“There are no winners in murder trials, especially when those involved are children, whether victim, witness or suspect.

“It is a moment to recognise, however, the bravery of the children who saw Nathaniel die in the street and were mentally strong enough to relive the incident over and over again in court.

“I doubt anyone who was there will forget what they saw on Friday 15 September last year, Nathaniel was barely a teenager and will remain forever so.

“Nathaniel’s death is a bleak reminder of what happens when children choose to carry knives, in their words, as we heard in court, “for their protection”. It is never for protection, knives are carried and used with the intent to cause really serious harm. Nathaniel was not armed with a knife and could not defend himself from the two boys who he had once called friends.

Nathaniel Shani on his 14th birthday

“Nathaniel’s family have been torn apart by their loss and have born the stresses of the trial with great dignity. 

“So many other lives were ruined that night as well as Nathaniel’s, his young friends who saw him dying will never be able to erase this from their memories.

“Police officers and staff across Greater Manchester, and beyond are proactively working to keep people safe, working with partner agencies to address underlying causes of knife and youth violence and working closely with the communities we serve.

“So, I’m appealing to anyone carrying a knife to hand it in before it is too late.  Forever amnesty is an opportunity to surrender weapons – no questions asked. We need help from parents, carers, teachers – we need your help to get knives off the street.

“And if you don’t hand your knife in, we will use everything in our power to find out who you are and we will convict you.

"There is no positive outcome, it’s a split-second decision to use a knife and the aftermath will always fatal."