THREE HIGH WYCOMBE TEENAGERS were convicted today after the conclusion of a five-week trial for the murder of an 18-year-old man just yards from his home.

Trio sentenced to a combined 38 years

Wa-ays Dhaye was ambushed, repeatedly stabbed and left for dead in a brutal attack in Slough on August 31 last year.

The victim, who was on his way back from Notting Hill Carnival at the time of the attack, was taken to Wexham Park Hospital where he died the following day.

Khianni Gordon, 18, was found guilty of murder as well as one count of perverting the course of justice.

Kaneel Huggins, also 18, was found guilty of one count of manslaughter and pleaded guilty to one count of perverting the course of justice. Antwon Clarke, 18, was found guilty of one count of manslaughter.

The trio blamed the attack on the cousin of 13-year-old Kyrece Francis, who died while swimming with friends in 2014, but the jury did not believe their story and have instead found them guilty of the crime.

Senior Investigating Officer, Det Chief Insp Kevin Brown, said that the attack resulted from taunts over Twitter and a “minimal” altercation during the carnival.

He went on to confirm that Huggins and Clarke from High Wycombe travelled from Notting Hill to Slough, in a car loaned to Huggins, to lie in wait for the other group at Slough Railway Station.

Armed with knives, the trio then hunted Wa-ays down away from his friends before stalking him through the streets and carrying out the attack close to his home.

Wa-ays suffered multiple stab wounds including one which severed his main artery.

All three defendants travelled back to High Wycombe and two days later Gordon and Huggins took the car and burnt it out in Marlow, destroying evidence.

Gordon and Huggins were arrested on 4 September 2015 and charged on 7 September 2015.

Clarke was arrested on 21 September 2015 and charged the following day.

Det Chief Insp Brown added: “I am satisfied that Gordon, Huggins and Clarke have been found guilty of murder and manslaughter and are now facing long prison sentences.

“Neither of them accepted their own responsibility in relation to Wa-ays' murder and indeed blamed others.

“Wa-ays' family have had to endure not only the tragic loss of their loved one, but also the trauma of a court case in order to see those responsible for Wa-ays' death brought to justice.”

Adrian Foster, CPS Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: "This case involved the tragic murder of 18-year-old Wa-ays Dhaye in Slough last August.

"Gordon, Clarke, and Huggins all answered 'no comment' during police interviews. They were all forensically linked to Wa-ays' death with DNA, telephone evidence (call data and cell site analysis), Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and CCTV, but all denied murder.”

“We know that nothing will bring Wa-ays back to his family and friends, but we hope that today's convictions and sentences bring them at least a small sense that justice has been done.”