A TEENAGER has admitted fatally stabbing Rugby man Cain Jackson on Halloween last year.
Ethan Tucker had pleaded not guilty at Warwick Crown Court to the murder of 24-year-old Mr Jackson during the incident on the evening of October 31.
But at a pre-trial hearing, after the original trial date this month had to be abandoned because of the Covid-19 lockdown, the 18-year-old’s barrister Rachel Brand QC asked for the indictment to be put to him again.
Tucker, of Meadow Road, Rugby, appearing via a video link from Brinsford young offenders’ institution, pleaded not guilty to the murder of 24-year-old Mr Jackson – but guilty to manslaughter.
With the barrister appearing through the Microsoft Teams video conferencing facility, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano asked: “Where do we go from here?”
Prosecutor Peter Grieves-Smith said Tucker’s plea, which had been entered on the basis he had used ‘excessive force in self-defence,’ was acceptable to the prosecution.
Of a suggestion that Tucker should be sentenced on May 22, Judge de Bertodano said: “My hope is that we will be able to be present in this courtroom, but whether we will or not, the hearing will be on that date.”
Miss Brand said: “If it’s going to be over Teams, we hope that his parents would be able to watch the hearing through a remote link from his solicitor’s office, and that the deceased’s family will be over the same facility from Rugby police station.”
Adjourning the case, and remanding him in custody, the judge told Tucker: “That is the end of this hearing.
“You are going to be back here on May 22, and I very much hope you will be able to be brought to the court building, rather than over the link.”
Following the hearing, investigating officer Det Insp Teresa McKenna from Warwickshire Police said: “This was a tragic event which led to a young man losing his life, and our thoughts remain with Cain’s friends and family at this difficult time.
“This has been a complex investigation and I would like to thank everyone who came forward to give evidence to support our enquiries, and ultimately helped to bring the defendant to justice.”
