A “mistake” by a jury forewoman meant three men accused of killing a man near Waterloo Station were initially cleared – only for the judge to bring the case back into court and jurors be unable to reach a verdict.
Adrian Keise, 32, was fatally stabbed in October 2022 in Lower Marsh, central London, after becoming involved in an altercation.
Brothers Paul Yusuff, 21, and Matthew Yusuff, 23, were charged with his murder, while the former was also charged with possession of a knife.
They were also charged with the lesser alternative of manslaughter, along with a third defendant, Moussa Traore, 24.
All three men, from south London, denied the charges and were on trial at the Old Bailey in London.
Jury forewoman makes ‘mistake’
The jury of 11 men and women had been deliberating for 10 hours and 46 minutes when they were called into court for what was expected to be a majority direction.
The jury forewoman was twice asked if verdicts had been reached on which they all agreed before finding the defendants, from south London, not guilty.
Soon after the jury was discharged, Judge Charles Gratwicke reassembled the court after receiving a jury note indicating a mistake had been made.
Despite opposition from defence barristers, the judge recalled the jury and questioned the forewoman about what happened.
The judge asked if she had made a “mistake” when she said the jury had unanimous verdicts.
The woman replied: “Yes.”
The judge told the jury to resume deliberations and that he would accept a verdict on which at least 10 of the 11 jurors agreed. A 12th jury member had fallen ill and died during the trial.
On Thursday, the jury was discharged for a second time after deliberating for a total of 12 hours and 44 minutes.
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Asked if the jury had reached any verdicts on which at least 10 agreed, the forewoman initially said “no”.
She quickly corrected herself and found Paul Yusuff not guilty of possessing a blade.
The jury was unable to agree on verdicts in relation to two other charges.
The prosecution was given seven days to consider whether or not to seek a retrial.
If the CPS does not seek a retrial, prosecutors will formally offer no evidence in the case and a judge will formally find the defendants not guilty.
‘Extremely troubled’
After the jury left court, defence barrister Kerim Fuad KC said he remained “extremely troubled” by what had happened and expressed concern that the defendants, who are all in custody, were being detained “illegally” in light of Wednesday’s verdict.
Previously, the trial had heard how Mr Keise, from Lambeth, was chased and surrounded by the three men in the early hours of 29 October 2022.
Earlier that evening Mr Keise had spent the evening drinking with friends at the Thirsty Bear pub in nearby Stamford Street.
They went on to the area of the Cubana Bar, near Waterloo Station, shortly after 2am where their paths crossed with the defendants’ group.
Prosecutor William Davis had said: “Within just a few minutes, an innocuous, minor and quite insignificant disagreement grew to an altercation and then escalated into a period of uncontrolled violence quite out of any proportion to the initiating event – all taking place in the streets of central London.”
It was alleged that Matthew Yusuff wielded a bottle and Paul Yusuff stabbed Mr Keise in the back three times with a knife.
The victim was rushed to hospital where he later died from his injuries.
