Man found guilty of teenager's murder in Camberley

A man has been convicted of the murder of a 17-year-old teenager described by his family as a “beloved, sweet, gentle son who wouldn’t hurt a fly”.

 

Kyle Wright, 17, was at a party in Camberley on 27 May 2022 when he was confronted by Jonathan Cox, 18, and stabbed to death in the street.

 

Cox (born 1/10/2004) was found guilty of Kyle’s murder at Guildford Crown today (12 December), after the jury returned a unanimous verdict following a 14-day trial. He will be sentenced on Thursday (15 December).

 

The court heard how officers pieced together CCTV footage to show Cox’s movements on the night of the murder, which took place in Green Hill Road, close to the junction with Copped Hall Drive.

 

The footage showed Cox leaving his home address and cycling to the scene and then walking to Green Hill Road. He then confronted Kyle and his friends who were in the road outside a house party. Moments before 10.50pm, Cox attacked Kyle, fatally stabbing him in the chest. Despite the best efforts of paramedics, Kyle was sadly pronounced dead at the scene shortly after he was attacked.

 

Cox was identified through CCTV footage cycling away from the scene where he made his way towards Camberley town centre before returning to his home address a short distance away.

 

CCTV footage also showed Cox coming and going from his home address a short time after the murder and then subsequently numerous times the following day. The prosecution told the court that this was when he disposed of his clothing and his mobile phone, as well as the bike he had used to cycle to the scene and the knife he had used to stab Kyle. Despite extensive police searches across a vast area, none of the property has ever been found.

 

Phone cell analysis of Cox’s phone revealed that it had been used in the vicinity of the murder. Various messages were also found on his phone, including one in which he said he had “stashed everything in the forest”, and that he was “so paranoid as he didn’t want to go to prison”. Cox had also requested help to “burn everything in the forest”.      

 

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Simon Dunn from the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: “First and foremost I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Kyle Wright. No one should ever have to endure the loss they have suffered.

 

“I would also like to pay tribute to the way they have handled themselves throughout the investigation and subsequent court process, and the bravery and dignity they have demonstrated.”

 

“As soon as the murder investigation was launched, the team worked tirelessly to find the person responsible for Kyle’s death. This included going through hours of CCTV footage, obtaining witness accounts in difficult circumstances, and ploughing through mobile phone analysis to find the evidence. This painstaking work was pivotal in securing a conviction.”

 

“Cox’s motive for targeting Kyle appears to have come from a minor feud between separate groups of young people from neighbouring towns. Cox went to the scene armed with a knife that night with the intention of causing him serious harm. Unfortunately, this has resulted in the tragic and senseless death of a teenage boy with his whole life ahead of him.

 

“Kyle’s death also caused considerable concern and distress within the local community as well as local schools and colleges. Our local neighbourhood teams work closely with our partner agencies to educate young people about the risks of carrying a knife and to prevent these crimes from happening.

 

“Young people, especially teenagers, need to feel safe and it needs to be reinforced at every level that carrying knives isn’t the answer to the issues they are facing.”

 

Kyle Wright is pictured above.