Manchester - The killer of a private schoolboy stabbed through the heart has provoked outrage by applying for day release from prison in time for Christmas.
Josh Molnar, 18, who is serving a 16-month sentence for possession of an illegal flick knife and lying to police, was only locked up in July.
He admitted wielding the fatal blow which left Yousef Makki, 17, with a 5½in chest wound, but was cleared of murder and manslaughter after arguing that the tragedy was an accident.
The family of Yousef – a scholarship pupil at the £13 000-a-year (about R57 000) Manchester Grammar School – were told last week of fellow public schoolboy Molnar’s application.
Yousef’s sister, Jade Akoum, said: "We are appalled. It appears the application has been made so he can spend Christmas with his family – but it’s only months after he’s been sentenced. It’s a real kick in the teeth as we will never have the chance to spend another day with Yousef. The judge who sentenced him [Molnar] spoke out against his fascination with knives. What kind of message does it send if he can be let out on day release so soon?"
Former Labour home secretary Lord Blunkett called for Molnar’s application for day release to be called in for scrutiny by Justice Secretary Robert Buckland.
Yousef, who wanted to be a heart surgeon, was stabbed during an altercation with Molnar in Hale Barns – a wealthy Cheshire commuter village popular with footballers – on March 2.
During the trial at Manchester Crown Court, the prosecution said Molnar was angry with Yousef and a second boy, known as Boy B, after being beaten up in a botched attempt to rob a drug dealer.
Molnar, known as Boy A until he turned 18, claimed self-defence. He alleged that Yousef, from Burnage, Manchester, pulled a knife on him and punched him. The prosecution said there was no evidence Yousef was carrying a knife.
Molnar was also cleared of conspiracy to rob but admitted possession of an offensive weapon and perverting the course of justice. During the trial, he admitted being a cannabis user and said he thought it was ‘cool’ to carry knives.
Boy B, who supplied the weapon used in the stabbing, was cleared of conspiracy to rob and perverting the course of justice but admitted possession of an offensive weapon and was locked up for four months. He will be 18 in February.
Rugby fanatic Molnar comes from a privileged background. He is the son of former Cheshire Lawn Tennis Association chairman Mark Molnar, 56, and Stephanie Molnar, 51, co-founder of a chain of children’s nurseries. His family hired an expensive PR agency to manage publicity about him being named when he turned 18 last month.
Molnar, of Hale, would not normally be eligible for parole until halfway through his sentence, next March. His application is understood to have been made under the Release on Temporary Licence scheme, which allows day release for ‘reasons including work placements, training, maintaining family ties or medical treatments’.
The Ministry of Justice said it did not comment on individual cases. The Molnar family did not wish to comment last night.