Oliver Woolhouse, leading Amiee Parkes, prosecuted youths involved in a violent attack in Shirley which took place on the 7th of February 2026. The 16-year-old boy took a large machete to the scene, causing life threatening injuries to the heads and faces of two boys aged 14 and 15, and was unanimously convicted by a jury of two counts of attempted murder following Operation Filoplume and a trial lasting almost three weeks. Other younger defendants admitted their involvement in a violent disorder and were remitted to the Youth Court for sentence.
The 16-year-old defendant, shown to have a fascination with knives, had purchased the machete online. He then took it with him in a taxi with his co-defendants to the scene of an intended fight in the Stratford Road area of Shirley. As the three unarmed co-defendants attacked the group which including the two victims, the 16-year-old defendant removed the machete which had been secreted in his trousers, and began repeatedly striking the victims to the head area before all fled the scene on foot. After becoming aware that an arrest had been made the next morning, the 16-year-old left his home address and made deliberate efforts to dispose of the machete in a nearby park.
Sentencing will take place in November.
Oliver and Amiee both prosecute and defend serious crime. You can instruct them through our criminal clerking team via crime@cornwallstreet.co.uk.