Teenager admits Stratford station manslaughter

A teenage boy has admitted killing a man at Stratford station.

The 17-year-old appeared at the Old Bailey this afternoon where he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of John Francis Breen.

Mr Breen, 53, was found unconscious after an assault during the evening rush hour on October 27 last year and died in hospital from serious head injuries.

A 15-year-old boy also admitted assaulting Mr Breen causing him actual bodily harm.

The teenagers, from Ilford but who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been charged with murder but prosecutor Mukul Chawla QC accepted the pleas after careful consideration.

He told the court that the murder charge should lie on file.

Mr Chawla added that the evidence in the case came from “fractured and partial” eyewitness accounts and “patchy” CCTV footage. The critical moments were captured on film but at a distance.

Judge Mark Lucraft QC said he would adjourn sentencing until Friday, May 20.

In a statement issued shortly after Mr Breen’s death, his family paid tribute to a “wonderful son, brother and uncle” who would be “truly missed by all who knew him”.

“John’s whole family and friends are totally devastated by this mindless act of violence.