THE teenager accused of murdering schoolboy Rhys Jones will face trial in Liverpool.
Representatives of the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were bidding to get his trial and that of six others charged with assisting him moved out of Merseyside.
They argued the strong emotions surrounding the Croxteth Park shooting within Liverpool would mean the teenager would not receive a fair trial.
But yesterday their bid was rejected by Mr Justice Clarke, who ruled against moving the trial outside the city.
He said: “I am keeping the trial here and I refuse the application.”
The seven, who all appeared at Liverpool Crown Court via videolink, will face trial on October 2.
Judge Clarke said he did not believe a jury from Liverpool were more likely to be prejudiced by the extensive publicity than one from anywhere else in the country.
He said: “This is a case where there has been huge publicity on a national level and I find no reason why a panel drawn from Liverpool rather than anywhere else would be more likely to be adversely effected.”
Mr Justice Clarke added he had received a “dignified and carefully prepared” letter from Rhys’s mum Melanie asking for the trial to be held in the city.
He said: “She drew attention to the fact Rhys, her son, was a native in Liverpool, who had lived all his life here.”
Judge Clarke added: “Rhys was one of Liverpool’s own and that in itself is a strong reason why the trial should take place here.”
Stuart Lawson-Rogers QC, defending the accused, had argued the strength of feeling surrounding the trial was a justifiable reason for moving it.
He said: “The tragedy, we would submit, must inevitably be felt most painfully and most deeply in this city.”
He added: “This is a collective and still open wound in the community of Liverpool.”
Mr Lawson-Rogers said the city’s “strong community identity” had led to an outpouring of grief, as well as the creation of the Liverpool Unites campaign against gun crime in the city.
A total of 11 people have been charged in connection with the murder. Seven people will face trial in October, with the cases of the other four defendants being heard after the main trial.
Mrs Jones held Rhys in her arms as he lay dying after being shot as he walked home from football practice last August.
