'Trying to play hard man' led to teen's death

The full story can now be told of boy's brutal murder

- AMY WALKER AND ANDREW BARDSLEY

NATHANIEL Shani's parents were getting ready for their son's 15th birthday when he was murdered.

Preparations for the celebration were well under way and his mum was keen to ensure that she had plenty of his favourite drink, Tango, to make the day extra special.

But Nathaniel never made it to his party. He never made it to adulthood or any of the life milestones that most people take for granted.

Ten days before he was due to turn 15, he was stabbed to death by a boy the same age as him, who he'd previously been friends and classmates with.

In a remarkably frank courtroom admission, the judge who dealt with Nathaniel's killers said it was 'no longer shocking' that boys so young were appearing in court for killing other young boys.

Earlier this summer, two 12-yearold boys became the UK's youngest convicted murderers for more than 30 years after a 19-year-old was killed in Wolverhampton.

The judge's stark statement in Nathaniel's case serves as another reminder as to how embedded knife crime has become within society.

It is yet another reminder of the challenge facing law enforcement and society at large.

The full story surrounding Nathaniel's murder can now be revealed after reporting restrictions, which had granted his killers anonymity, were lifted following a successful legal submission by the Manchester Evening News.

Our application argued that full reporting of the case could help assist public discussion of this pernicious societal problem.

In her ruling, the judge, High Court judge Mrs Justice Ellenbogen, said: "The public will wish to know the identities of those who commit such a serious offence in seeking to understand how it is that children of that age can do so."

The boy who killed Nathaniel can now be named as Kyle Dermody, from Miles Platting.