| A teenager was killed with a ceremonial dagger in east London as revenge after his friends tried to rob a group of Asian youths, the Old Bailey has heard. Ashley Hedger, 16, was stabbed on Plashet Road, Upton Park, in Plaistow, on 16 January. Brendan Finucane QC, prosecuting, said the group of youths were summoned from a nearby mosque by one of the victims. Mohammed Alim, Raju Rahman, Albab Chowdhury and Amran Siddik, all 18, from Newham, east London, deny murder. Mr Finucane said: "He [Ashley] was chased by a group of Asian youths into the doorway of a supermarket where he was repeatedly punched, kicked and stabbed. "The blade of the knife was found embedded in his right temple. the handle of the knife was missing." He said the attack on Ashley was in revenge for an attempted robbery on one of the attackers by Ashley's friends just a few minutes before. He added that Ashley had distanced himself from the plan but was set upon after mistakenly being pointed out as one of the attackers. "One of the attackers, who was dressed in traditional Islamic clothing, hit the deceased twice in the head with a downwards stabbing motion with as much force as he could muster," Mr Finucane said. Ashley died of his injuries in hospital after suffering four stab wounds, including one to the heart. The trial has been adjourned until Friday. |