Murder of Olly Stephens

Oliver Lucas Stephens, known as Olly, was a 13-year-old schoolboy who lived in Emmer Green, a suburb of Reading, Berkshire, England. He had been diagnosed with autism shortly before his death. In the weeks before he was killed, Stephens had seen a video on Snapchat showing a young boy being humiliated by two older boys and tried to alert the victim's brother by forwarding it to him. This angered the two older boys shown in the video, who accused Stephens of "snitching."

The two boys, aged 13 and 14, sought to recruit a 14-year-old girl, who knew Stephens in person, to lure him to a location where he could be attacked. The girl met the two boys online and saw them in person for the first time on the day of the killing. Voice notes later recovered by police showed the trio discussing plans to attack Stephens, including references to hitting or stabbing him, and the girl expressing excitement about the plan. Recovered material also included videos of the boys showing off knives.

On 3 January 2021, the girl arranged to meet Stephens at Bugs Bottom, a field near his home, telling him she would be alone. When he arrived, he was ambushed by the two boys. Stephens was initially attacked with fists and defended himself, knocking one boy to the ground, before the 13-year-old boy produced a knife and stabbed him twice. The three then fled the scene. An off-duty nurse walking her dog witnessed the stabbing and administered first aid; paramedics performed CPR for 30 minutes, but Stephens died in an ambulance before reaching hospital. Following the attack, the two boys disposed of bloodstained clothing near a railway line and deleted material from their phones. Text messages recovered by investigators included one boy admitting his role and describing what had happened, and the other calling it "the biggest mistake of my life."

Thames Valley Police investigated the case, and the perpetrators were charged on 6 January 2021. Over 90% of the evidence presented at trial came from mobile phone data, supplemented by forensic evidence from recovered clothing. The two boys were charged with murder and two counts of perverting the course of justice; they denied murder and one of the perverting-the-course-of-justice counts each, while admitting the other. The girl was charged with manslaughter and perverting the course of justice, and pleaded guilty to both.

On 26 July 2021, following a five-week trial, both boys were unanimously convicted of murder. The older boy was also convicted of perverting the course of justice, while the younger boy was acquitted of that additional charge. On 24 September 2021, both boys were sentenced to detention at Her Majesty's pleasure, with minimum terms of 13 years for the younger boy and 12 years for the older boy. The girl was sentenced to three years and two months' detention in a Young Offender Institution; in December 2021 the Court of Appeal ruled this sentence unduly lenient and increased it to five years. Because all three defendants were under 18, English law prohibits their identification. The case drew significant attention to the role of social media and knife culture among minors, prompting Stephens's parents to call for stricter regulation of social media platforms.