Schoolboy killer refuses to testify in own defence

LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) A 16-year-old boy accused of murdering fellow teenager Kiyan Prince refused today to testify in his defence, prompting the Old Bailey judge to warn him how the jury might interpret the decision.

The judge said the jury ''may draw such inferences which appear proper'' about the youth's refusal to take the stand.

Earlier the court was told how the teenager, who admits killing 15-year-old Prince but denies murder, had been excluded from his school for 10 days just prior to the incident in May. He cannot be named for legal reasons.

The only witness for the defence is to be a forensic scientist.

Last week the jury heard how Prince had called out for his mother as he collapsed from stab wounds, one of which pierced his heart.

He was fatally stabbed just outside his north London school after he intervened in an altercation between his killer and one of his friends.

The defendant says he only intended to ''leave a little cut'' when he stabbed Prince, a promising footballer and member of Queens Park Rangers youth soccer team.

REUTERS MQA ND1808