Teenager Jailed for Street Row Knife Death

Stuart Fagan, 18, of Ordsall, Salford, was jailed for manslaughter for stabbing 17-year-old Courtney Eaton.

A teenager who stabbed a youth to death in a street brawl over a "minor insult" in Greater Manchester last September was sent to prison for eight years on Wednesday.

Stuart Fagan, 18, of Ordsall, Salford, was jailed for manslaughter for stabbing 17-year-old Courtney Eaton.

Fagan, who had drunk half a bottle of brandy before the row, had plunged a silver folding knife into his victim at least four times, the Press Association reported.

The injuries to Eaton's stomach, torso and buttocks caused fatal organ damage, severing a main artery and vein that led to internal bleeding.

Fagan admitted possession of an offensive weapon saying he carried the knife for self-protection.

He was originally charged with murder but was convicted of manslaughter after he told the jury at Manchester Crown Court he did not intend to kill his victim.

Fagan also received three years for possessing an offensive weapon. Both sentences will run concurrently.

The defendant and Eaton's paths crossed as they both went out with separate groups of friends.

Comments may have been exchanged between both groups, but it is not known what sparked the confrontation, the court heard.

Outside court, Vincent Chadwick, senior investigating officer for Greater Manchester Police said it was a senseless killing.

"For the sake of a minor insult which could have been ignored, a 17-year-old boy was stabbed and lay dying in the street," he said.

"This tragic case demonstrates the dangers of knives -- something which Fagan on his own admission was aware of. If he had not been in possession of this knife then Courtney would still be alive today," he added.

In December, the government said a police crackdown on knife crime in 10 "hotspots" across England had led to a big fall in stabbings and in teenagers carrying weapons.