Teen's self-defence claim challenged by prosecutor 

Defendant tells jury 11 threats to kill were 'empty'

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A warning that this story contains information which some readers may find distressing.

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A teenager accused of murdering a 14-year-old boy in Ramsey last year has been challenged over his claim that he was acting in self-defence.

The now 16-year-old, who can’t be named for legal reasons, is standing trial at Douglas Courthouse; proceedings have now entered their fourth week.

Christopher McBurnie, from Castletown, died on 29 May 2025 after being stabbed outside the defendant’s home in Ramsey; he’d arrived for a fight which had been organised on social media.

Today (19 October) the defendant continued giving evidence - about his actions before, during and after the fatal incident - via a live-video link.

‘Bravado’

In the final stages of questioning, by his defence advocate Siobhan Grey KC, the defendant was asked to describe the ‘fear’ he felt when he left his property to find Christopher outside.

“I don’t really know how to describe it,” the boy replied.

“Why did you take the knife out of your pocket?” Ms Grey KC asked.

“To try and scare them off,” the defendant added.

The teenager told jurors he didn’t know where he’d stabbed Christopher, who he said punched him twice first, or how many times adding: “It happened in, like, seconds.”

“Why did the stabbing stop?” his advocate asked.

“He was going out of the gate, so the threat was going away,” the teenager replied.

Voice notes exchanged between the two boys on the evening of 28 May 2025, and in the early hours of the day Christopher died, were also replayed to the court.

In them the boys could be heard making threats to kill each other.

“You thought it was all words, bravado?” the advocate asked.  

“Yeah,” the teenager replied.

'Truth'

In cross-examination Prosecutor David Temkin KC put it to the defendant that whilst both boys had made threats to kill each other the defendant had made the first three and 11 in total.

“Can you see a pattern here?” he asked him; “One of you is threatening to kill the other over and over again.”

“Yeah,” the defendant replied adding that the threats he was making were ‘empty’ and he’d only stabbed Christopher because he attacked him first.

Questioning the teen about his repeated calls, over social media, for Christopher to come to his hometown Mr Temkin KC asked him: “Why were you so determined to get them to Ramsey?”

“Well, I didn’t think it would happen, so I just kept on saying it,” the defendant replied: “I didn’t want it to happen at all.”

The defendant said he had just wanted ‘the last word’ in the argument and maintained that he didn’t believe anyone would turn up at his house despite messages saying they were on their way.  

“Have you told the truth to the jury about that?” Mr Temkin KC asked him.

“Yep,” he replied.

“Tell us the truth X (the defendant) – you knew they were coming to your house,” the prosecutor added.

“No, that’s not the truth,” the defendant replied.

‘Scare Him Off’

The teenager told the jury he noticed a group of teens had formed outside his house and he felt at the time his only option was to open the front door and confront them.

“Had you already decided to stab Christopher when you came out of the house?” the prosecutor asked.

“No,” the defendant replied.

Accepting he was taller, heavier and stronger than Christopher the defendant denied he was ‘angry’ and said it had taken him ‘under five seconds’ to use the knife which was in his pocket.

He maintained that he’d warned Christopher he had the blade, as part of efforts to ‘scare him off’ but added: “I don’t know if he heard it.”

“Did you really say something about a knife?” the prosecutor quizzed.

“Yeah – I haven’t made it up,” the teenager replied.

Self-defence

The teenager acknowledged he’d stabbed Christopher but told the jury it was an ‘act of self-defence’ saying: “I don’t remember it. I accept I caused the injuries.”

He said he couldn’t remember the ‘sequence of the wounds’ he’d inflicted with the 14.5cm blade and denied he’d used ‘excessive force’ or struck him anywhere specific.

“Why was there a need to stab Christopher more than once?” Mr Temkin KC asked.

“He was an ongoing threat and I felt under threat by him,” the defendant replied.

“What else could you possibly have wanted to do except kill him?” the prosecutor queried.

“Scare him away,” responded the defendant adding: “I didn’t want to kill him or hurt him at all. I didn’t want to cause him any harm at all.”

15 Minutes

Christopher, and two friends, arrived in Ramsey at 3.14pm on 29 May 2025.

At 3.24pm the Castletown boy was stabbed.

A 999 call was made at 3.25pm, police arrived on scene at 3.31pm and an officer knocked on the defendant’s front door at 3.39pm.

Quizzed about what the defendant was doing in this 15-minute window he replied: “I can’t really remember.”

“Were you thinking clearly about the situation?” he was asked by Mr Temkin KC.

“I don’t think I was, no,” he replied.

The prosecutor asked the teenager why he had returned inside, put the chain on the door and washed the knife.

“I think I did it to disassociate myself – not to get rid of evidence,” the teenager replied adding: “I don’t know. I was just in, like, a panic.”

The jury has been told the knife was found in his bedroom wardrobe between a lightsaber and as fishing rod.  

“You were not acting in self-defence, were you?” Mr Temkin KC concluded.

“I was,” the defendant replied: “The truth is it was self-defence and they were empty threats.”

The Trial

The juvenile defendant denies the offence of murder.

The trial is expected to continue tomorrow (20 October).

You can find out more about the trial HERE.