The family of Yousef Makki have been told a criminal case into his death will not be reopened, despite a coroner ruling he was unlawfully killed. Coroner Geraint Williams heard three days of evidence at Stockport Coroners' Court last month in a second inquest for Yousef, from Burnage.
He died after being stabbed by Joshua Molnar in Hale Barns, Trafford, on March 2, 2019. The pair were both 17-year-old Manchester Grammar School students at the time.
Molnar was cleared of murder and manslaughter by a jury later that year, while a first inquest was inconclusive. After Yousef's family won their battle for a second inquest at the High Court, Mr Williams ruled Molnar's actions were not committed in 'self-defence' as he had claimed, and that they did amount to manslaughter.
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The case was considered again by Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) following the second inquest. But earlier today (November 13), Yousef's family were told there was not enough evidence to trigger the case being reopened.
"I think we knew that they were going to say that there's not enough evidence," Jade Akoum, Yousef's sister, told the Manchester Evening News. "But it's still disappointing. We still feel like nobody has been held accountable. Nobody has been punished for Yousef's death."
She added: "It's a form of justice but it's not proper justice, is it? Because his killer is out there."
Coroners' courts use a different burden of proof, based on the balance of probabilities, to criminal courts - where proof must be beyond reasonable doubt. Jade says this was explained to the family by GMP today, and they would now need a breakthrough, such as a new eyewitness to come forward, for the case to be reopened by the CPS.
The family has not ruled out the possibility of pursuing a private prosecution, but Jade admits this would be 'difficult'. She has ruled out pursuing a civil case, telling followers on X (formerly Twitter) that 'this has never been about money'.
In the statement, she added: "It has been about the truth and for Yousef's killer to face punishment for what he did. Sometimes the world is unfair and we have to accept this result."
While the latest development is 'disheartening' for the family, they are still relieved a coroner concluded Molnar did not act in self-defence - something the family had 'been trying for years to prove', Jade said. She told the M.E.N.: "I think it took about two weeks to sink in. We were used to having a negative outcome each time."
A CPS spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with the family of Yousef Makki who suffered such a devastating loss. We respect the conclusion reached by the coroner who applies a very different test to the one used by the criminal courts.
“We put the case before a jury, held a full trial in 2019 and the defendant was found not guilty. We respect the verdict of the jury in the criminal case.” GMP has been approached for comment.
