Teen charged with Edmonton murder

A teenager has been charged with the murder of an Edmonton man who died after a “verbal altercation” with a group of youngsters.

Christopher John Barry, 53, who was also known as Jack, was stabbed at his home in Edmonton on Sunday evening. It is said to have happened after he was involved in an incident with a group trying to get into a party at another address in the block of flats

The boy, 13, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been remanded in custody to appear at Highbury Corner Youth Court charged with murder.

Four other boys – three of them aged 14, one 13 – were arrested on suspicion of murder. They must return to an east London police station next month pending further inquiries, police said.

Detective Chief Inspector Neale Baldock, who is leading the investigation, said: “Our initial inquiries have established that there was a supervised party taking place at another address within the block and the group of males were trying to gain access to this.

“The victim and this group were not known to each other – what started as a minor verbal altercation has escalated into a shocking act of violence.”

A post-mortem examination found the cause of Mr Barry’s death was a stab wound to the chest.

Ambulance crews attended but he was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before 8.40pm on Sunday.