British Youth Is Found Guilty in Ax Killing of Black Teenager

A teenager was found guilty Wednesday of murdering Anthony Walker, a black student hacked to death with an ice ax in what police said was a racist killing.

Michael Barton, 17, half brother of Manchester City soccer midfielder Joey Barton, had denied killing the 18-year-old college student in July near the northwestern city of Liverpool.

Walker’s murder shocked the local community, evoking memories of the 1993 high-profile racist killing of Stephen Lawrence in southeast London.

Both Lawrence and Walker were attacked as they waited at bus stops.

Walker’s mother, Gee, said outside the court that she was satisfied with the verdict and would try to forgive her son’s killers.

“At the point of death, Jesus said, ‘I forgive them because they don’t know what they do.’ I’ve got to forgive them,” she told reporters.

The Walker family said Anthony had been killed because of the color of his skin, a belief the police share.

“We said right from the outset we believed it was a racially motivated attack. I still firmly believe that,” said Detective Chief Supt. Peter Currie.

Police said Walker was escorting his white girlfriend, Louise Thompson, 17, to the bus stop when he was set upon by a group of youths.

The attack came minutes after he had been the target of racist taunts.

Two weeks ago, Paul Taylor, 20, admitted killing Walker before his trial started at Liverpool Crown Court.

Taylor and Barton fled the country after the attack but later returned to Liverpool following a televised appeal from Barton’s half brother.