Teen Killers Who Stabbed Jack Woodley Like 'Zombies' Are Finally Named

The gang of boys who brutally murdered 18-year-old Jack Woodley with a Rambo-style knife have been named and pictured for the first time after reaching adulthood.

Jack, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was attacked on October 16, 2021, after leaving a funfair in Houghton-le-Spring, Sunderland. He was surrounded, chased down an alleyway, and violently assaulted by a group of ten teenagers, aged 14 to 17 at the time.

During the attack, Jack was punched, kicked, stamped on, and fatally stabbed in the back with a 25cm blade. A witness described the violence as being like "zombies attacking an animal". Jack was taken to hospital but died the following day.

Following a lengthy trial at Newcastle Crown Court, all ten youths were convicted of murder. They were sentenced to a combined total of 124 years in prison, with individual minimum terms ranging from eight to 17 years. All were found guilty under the legal doctrine of joint enterprise, which allows for all participants in a violent group attack to be held accountable for a murder, even if only one delivered the fatal blow.

The youth who inflicted the fatal stab wound, Calum Maddison, was just 15 years old at the time. The other members of the gang were identified as:

• Lewis Rose
• Tyler Brewis
• Rhys Wear
• Grant Wheatley
• Clayton Owen
• Sonny Smith
• Joe Lathan
• Leighton Mayo
• Blaine Sewell

Due to reporting restrictions, their identities were previously withheld. However, those restrictions expired once each turned 18. A legal challenge in 2023 had already permitted the naming of seven of the defendants.

The trial heard that Jack was attacked "solely for the excitement and pleasure of inflicting serious injury on an entirely innocent and randomly selected stranger", according to Judge Rodney Jameson KC. Prosecutor Mark McKone KC described the assault as a "classic case of joint enterprise".

Despite appeals filed by the convicted youths, the Court of Appeal upheld all convictions.

In an emotional statement following the verdicts, Jack’s mother, Zoey McGill, paid tribute to her son, describing him as a “cheeky chappy” who brought “light and love” to everyone who knew him.

“Jack was my reason to live and succeed in life,” she said. “We feel imprisoned by our grief and trauma. No parent, loved one or friend should suffer someone going to a fair and losing them forever.”

Witnesses to the attack described harrowing scenes. One said Jack was curled on the ground, trying to protect himself, as the group “rained punches” and “stamped on his head”. Another compared the gang to a “herd of lions” as they relentlessly beat their victim.

Jack’s murder sparked national outrage and renewed calls for tougher action against knife crime and youth violence.