Inquest to be heard into death of Sheffield boy, 15, killed in knife attack on city estate

Samuel Baker, aged 15, was stabbed to death on the Lowedges estate in May 2018.

Another boy, who was 15 at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was jailed for two years and eight months later that year.

Sheffield Crown Court heard how Sam was knifed in his chest with a blade he had been carrying himself when violence flared on Lowedges Road, Lowedges.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Stopford, the senior investigating officer in the case, said at the time that the death of a young boy had left ‘a community scared and in shock’.

He also said: “Sadly, Mr Baker’s death also highlights that if you carry a weapon, you increase the likelihood of it being used against you, which is tragically all too apparent in this case.”

A serious case review into Sam’s death revealed that he was exploited ‘through gang culture’ after being left without any education provision.

He moved to the UK from Bermuda at the age of 11 in summer 2014 but was found to have missed ‘significant amounts of education’ during his time in Sheffield.

During a social care assessment carried out in the summer of 2017, Sam was assessed to be ‘involved in gang type issues’ – less than a year before his death – but those involved in the assessment concluded that he was he was ‘not at risk of significant harm’.

The report says that his involvement with gangs led to an ‘escalating involvement in crime’ which included drug dealing and involvement in incidents including a ‘drive-by shooting’ as well as a disturbance at a car showroom.

Sam was known to threaten to ‘stab opponents’ and was also part of a house invasion in which a female was assaulted and the occupant’s drugs were stolen.

He was often reported as missing, with some episodes extending into ‘significant periods’ stretching into a week, and in one instance, 13 days.

See The Star later today for updates from the inquest.

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