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Woman found guilty of manslaughter of 15-year-old stabbed at Victoria station

PUBLISHED February 29, 2012
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19-year-old Victoria Osoteku latest of several convictions over murder of Sofyen Belamouadden at London rail terminus

A teenage woman has been found guilty of killing a 15-year-old boy who was stabbed at Victoria station in London.

Victoria Osoteku, 19, was convicted of the manslaughter of Sofyen Belamouadden by a majority verdict at the Old Bailey. On Monday she had been found guilty of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.

Osoteku was seen on CCTV kicking Belamouadden in the head as he lay dying on the ground after the attack by rival school pupils, which lasted about 10 seconds. He was stabbed nine times to the body and suffered wounds to his heart, a lung and major blood vessels.

She was the only female charged in connection with the incident in March 2010, and spent 19 days in the witness box.

Osoteku, of Deptford, south London, was remanded in custody to be sentenced at a later date.

The stabbing was the culmination of a minor confrontation the day before in the fast food area of the station between pupils from two west London schools.

The court heard Osoteku bought a set of knives from Argos with a 17-year-old youth at lunchtime and gave them to the gang. She was also one of the teenagers responsible for setting up the fatal showdown; the A-level student sent messages on Facebook arranging the clash between pupils from the rival schools. Belamouadden died after being chased by around 20 pupils across the Terminus Way concourse and into the underground station.

Osoteku denied the allegations during the five-month trial. She becomes the fourth person convicted of manslaughter in relation to the incident; three have been convicted of murder.

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