Mikey Roynon manslaughter convictions quashed for two teenagers jailed over party death

Cartel Bushnell and Leo Knight, who were jailed for the manslaughter of 16-year-old Mikey Roynon at a birthday party, have had their convictions quashed, it can now be reported. Bushnell, 17, and Knight, 18, had their convictions quashed at the Court of Appeal after they were jailed for manslaughter. Shane Cunningham fatally stabbed Mikey Roynon in the neck with a zombie knife. Mikey died from a single stab wound at a property in Bath, Somerset, in June 2023, despite the best efforts of emergency staff to save him. During the trial, the jury heard of the possibility that Mikey might have had a knife on him. But it emerged Mikey did not have a knife on him when he died and detectives found no other evidence to support this claim. Cunningham remains in prison and was convicted of his murder following a trial at Bristol Crown Court. Both Bushnell and Knight were found guilty of manslaughter by joint enterprise - which is applied when it is believed someone has assisted another with a crime. The pair have served more than two years behind bars but have successfully appealed their sentence. A re-trial had been slated for next month, but at a hearing at Bristol Crown Court, Christopher Quinlan KC, said there was "no longer a realistic prospect" for the manslaughter conviction. In a statement, a Crown Prosecution spokesperson said: "Due to changes with the evidence available and after careful review, it was decided there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction." Today, three judges said the prosecution had “offered no evidence” in either case, meaning reporting restrictions could be lifted. In their judgment, Baroness Carr said there had been an “accidental, but critical, error” in directions given to the jury around how to reach their verdict, making the convictions “unsafe”. During the trial, Cunningham, of Devizes, Wiltshire, claimed he was acting in self-defence when he stabbed Mikey after claiming his victim had swung a knife towards his friends in the garden. Mr Justice Saini ruled that Cunningham, Bushnell and Knight could be identified at their sentencing hearing despite their ages, after an application by the PA news agency. Passing sentence, the judge said Mikey’s “future looked promising” and that his family had suffered a "loss which is unimaginable." He said Bristol and the surrounding areas “are in the middle of a plague of knife crime”. - This is a breaking news story. Follow us on Google News, Flipboard, Apple News, Twitter, Facebook or visit The Mirror homepage.