Teen, 16, murdered 14-year-old boy after arranging fight on Snapchat

A teenage boy has been found guilty of murdering 14-year-old Christopher McBurnie after stabbing him at a pre-arranged fight.

McBurnie was found dead in Ramsey on the Isle of Man in May last year, following a ‘deliberate and frenzied attack’.

The boy who stabbed him, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of the murder after a four-week trial.

According to ITV News, the teenagers didn’t know each other but had rowed and arranged to fight over Snapchat, exchanging death threats.

McBurnie had travelled from Castletown to the other boy’s home on May 29, 2025, with his friends and encouraged him to come outside.

The defendant then allegedly left the home with a kitchen knife in his pocket.

A jury heard how he was punched in the head twice before stabbing the victim three times.

Emergency services arrived on the scene at around 3.40pm but just 40 minutes after the attack, McBurnie was pronounced dead.

The defendant is said to have threatened to kill the younger boy on 11 occasions and previously taunted him, saying he would come to his home to ‘kill him’.

His lawyers argued he was acting in self-defence after feeling threatened by the boys outside his house, noting his ‘low’ cognitive ability.

However, the prosecution argued it was a ‘deliberate and frenzied attack’ after luring McBurnie to the address.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Craig said the force’s thoughts ‘are first and foremost with Christopher’s family and everyone who loved him’.

He continued: ‘Throughout this investigation, we have remained conscious that at the heart of this case is a person who lost their life, and a family who must live with that loss every day.

‘Christopher was a 14-year-old boy whose life was taken from him in the most tragic of circumstances and we want to recognise his life, his relationships and everything that he meant to those closest to him.’

Police added that this kind of violence on the Isle of Man, which is ranked one of the safest places in the world, is an ‘extremely rare occurrence’.

The defendant will be sentenced on January 12.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.