Jury find Kajetan’s killer guilty of murder

A 20-year-old man from Stevenage has been found guilty of the murder of schoolboy Kajetan Migdal, following a trial at Luton Crown Court which ended today (Thursday 9 May).

Patrick Sharp-Meade of Cutty’s Lane in Stevenage accepted that he had stabbed and killed Kajetan, but denied murder.

It took the jury of six men and six women just over 24 hours to reach their verdict.

On Friday 27 May 2022, Kajetan and three friends, who attended St John Henry Newman School in Stevenage, had been at their school prom and were changing their clothes at his car, which was parked in Cutty’s Lane, before heading into Cambridge for the remainder of the night.

Wearing a balaclava and carrying a large zombie knife concealed down his trousers, Sharp-Meade confronted the boys believing they were the group who he had heard talking to his ex-girlfriend when she had phoned whilst on her way to his flat a few minutes earlier. After asking Kajetan if he was ‘from these ends’ Sharp-Meade then pulled out the knife and stabbed him, delivering a fatal wound to the heart. Kajetan died in hospital in the early hours of the next morning.

Kajetan and his friends had never met Sharp-Meade before that night and did not know his ex-girlfriend.

After the stabbing Sharp-Meade returned to his flat and hid the knife in his mattress. He left the scene but was traced by the police and quickly arrested.

In court he pleaded guilty to possessing the knife and a small number of wraps of cocaine that were found in his shoe during his arrest.

Sharp-Meade will be sentenced on Friday 17 May.

Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins from the Major Crime Unit said: “This has been a devastating case for everyone involved. Kajetan was celebrating a milestone moment in his life and was looking forward to attending university after the summer break. He was a bright young man who had his whole life ahead of him. He was a fantastic dancer and a wonderful son and brother.

“My team have worked tirelessly to get justice for Kajetan’s family and friends, who we have supported throughout this case. This was a senseless act of violence, which resulted in a young man being killed in cold blood because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, by an enraged teenager who imagined a situation that simply did not exist. 

“Although nothing can change what has happened, I hope now the family and the community can finally have closure around the judicial process.

“Knife crime can have an absolutely devastating effect on families and communities as this case sadly illustrates. Hertfordshire Constabulary is committed to tackling knife crime, apprehending and prosecuting those who commit knife related offences and educating the community about the impact of choosing to carry knives.”

Below is a statement from Kajetan's family: 

There is no justice that could have brought our Kajetan back or reduced our life sentence of grieving for him. This has been an agonising and lengthy process, so much so that Kajetan's father and brother have found it too utterly unbearable to attend any of the trial.

The police have done everything in their power to ensure that Kajetan's killer has been held to account for his actions and we are extremely grateful to them. However, as a family, we feel very strongly that the UK justice system which currently entertains a lesser sentence for killers pleading diminished responsibility, serves neither as sufficient deterrent for offenders nor adequate protection from them for the public.

A plea of diminished responsibility, all too easy to enter, creates delays and a monumentous drain on public funds which would be better invested in mental health services and crime prevention in the first place.

In honour of Kajetan, please consider lobbying your local MP to have ‘murdered by diminished responsibility’ coined in law and restricted as an option only to those genuinely mentally incapable of comprehending their actions and the outcome of their actions. The sentence of manslaughter should be the reserve of accidental killings or those that come about as a result of genuine self-defence. The law currently does not adequately acknowledge in its terminology the severity of the act of deliberately taking another life. To claim that commonly recognised neurodivergent conditions, which characterise a high percentage of our population, can be an excuse for the act of taking a life is an affront to similarly neurodivergent people everywhere. Only by redressing the balance of a system which prioritises fairness for the perpetrators of these crimes over justice, compassion and a voice for victims and their families will we ever be satisfied that the law is fit for purpose.

We wish to thank the police, particularly the family liaison officers and prosecution council, emergency services, doctors, nurses and all our friends, family and wide community for their incredible support.

Kajetan was a pacifist who hated violence and was the life and soul of our family, the beating heart. Our utterly innocent, unique, talented and widely cherished boy's contribution to the world has been far greater than he will ever know. The vacuum that has been left behind is enormous and we are all forever changed by losing him.

Patrick Sharp-Meade