Teenager who killed friend jailed

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A Tyneside teenager who stabbed his 15-year-old best friend to death has been jailed for life.

Billy Dunwoodie, then 16, stabbed Shane Jackson, from Throckley, Newcastle, 55 times after drinking three bottles of wine in two hours in May last year.

Dunwoodie, now 17, who had a previous conviction for assault causing actual bodily harm, admitted murder.

Judge David Hodson at Newcastle Crown Court said Dunwoodie would have to serve at least 12 years in prison.

The body of Shane, a basketball fan, was discovered at his home in Hallow Drive, Throckley, on 15 May.

'Steeped in alcohol'

He had suffered a sustained attack, which severed his spinal cord, pierced his shoulder blade and jaw, and chipped the bone of his skull.

Dunwoodie, of Mayfield Avenue, Throckley, had three small cuts to his right hand, which he said Shane had inflicted by drunkenly lunging at him with a Stanley knife blade.

Shane Jackson was found with multiple stab wounds at the flat

Police found the victim lying in a pool of blood face down on his bed, partially covered by a duvet.

The room was filled with empty cans and bottles.

A kitchen knife with a four-inch-long serrated blade, and two Stanley knife blades, were found discarded on the floor.

Jailing Dunwoodie, Judge Hodson said it was clear he had intended to kill his friend.

The judge said: "This case graphically illustrates yet again the dreadful consequences that can happen when anyone, and young people in particular, have far too much to drink and when steeped in alcohol have ready access to knives."

In a statement released through Northumbria Police, Shane's family said: "There is a big void in our lives that cannot be filled. Justice has been done today.

"Shane was well loved and liked by so many people and will be sadly missed by all who knew him."