Individuals Jailed for Assisting in Evidence Concealment for Teenage Murderers

Two individuals who assisted two adolescent murderers in concealing their clothing and potentially the weapons used in the killing have each been imprisoned. Shereen Brown, 40, of Dewhurst Road, Fartown, had previously been found guilty of perverting the course of justice in connection with investigations following the death of 15-year-old Khayri Mclean in Huddersfield in September 2022. Javayne John, 22, of Annie Smith Way, Birkby, had already admitted to the same offence. Brown received a 30-month prison sentence at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday, while John was handed a 20-month custodial sentence. The court was informed that Brown was the godmother of one of Khayri’s killers, Jakele Pusey, while John was his half-brother. His Honour Judge Neil Clark stated that both defendants had formed a plan, possibly alongside others, to hide “highly relevant bits of evidence” which had never been found. “What was happening here was a concerted effort to frustrate the investigation into the serious matter of a stabbing of a school child,” he informed the court. “Even if they didn’t realise Khayri McLean had been murdered, everybody would have known that this was very serious.” During the proceedings, it was stated that Pusey, then aged 15, and his co-defendant, Jovani Harriott, then aged 17, had changed clothes before and after the attack on 21 September 2022. Surveillance footage showed them carrying bags into an alleyway close to some woodland before emerging in different outfits. Prosecution barrister Ben Hammersley stated that the bags had contained clothing and “potentially” murder weapons. Subsequent to Khayri being fatally stabbed as he walked home from school, the court heard a series of phone calls were made between Brown, John and others who knew the killers. Brown and John were later seen on CCTV heading towards the woodland where the bags were believed to have been hidden and then emerging with them. John, who has no previous convictions, was then seen taking the bags into a car before returning without them. In mitigation, Danielle Graham said the act of her client, then aged 20, “appeared to be one of instinct borne out of love for his brother, combined with his immaturity and limited thinking skills”. She claimed he had not been aware of the “full horror of what happened”. Representing Brown, Rick Holland said she was a single mother who held two cleaning jobs. It was “difficult to see” there had been any other motivation aside misplaced loyalty, he added. However, Judge Clark said Brown should have had consideration for Khayri’s mother while trying to protect her godson. He told the defendants their “misplaced loyalty can hardly be said to be an excuse”. Det Supt Marc Bowes from West Yorkshire Police, who led the investigation into Khayri’s murder, said the teenager’s death “shocked not only the local community, but the nation”. “Perverting the Course of Justice is an extremely serious offence, and it is difficult to think of a more extreme example than trying to assist two killers evade arrest for the brutal murder of a schoolboy in broad daylight.” John’s sentence was reduced by one third because of his guilty plea. Judge Clark said the defendants could potentially serve less than half of their sentence in prison. He said the situation was “fluid depending on the crowding in prisons and government decisions”.