11-month retrial wait for defendants ‘mistakenly’ cleared by jury forewoman

Three men will have to wait 11 months for a retrial after being accidentally cleared of killing a man due to a jury “mistake”.

Last Wednesday, the family of 32-year-old Adrian Keise left court tearful and shaken after brothers Paul and Matthew Yusuff and their friend Moussa Traore were acquitted over his fatal stabbing outside Waterloo station.

The Old Bailey jury forewoman was twice asked if unanimous verdicts had been reached before finding the defendants, from south London, not guilty.

Within minutes, Judge Charles Gratwicke, who had come out of retirement to hear the case, reassembled the court after receiving a note indicating jurors had not all agreed on the verdicts.

My fear is if we do not provisionally fix a date there is every possibility it will go further into 2025 and nobody wants that

The judge ordered them to continue deliberating before finally discharging them last Thursday after a total of 12 hours and 44 minutes in retirement.

The jury found Paul Yusuff not guilty of possessing a blade or point.

However, the 11 men and women were unable to agree on two other charges.

Paul Yusuff, 21, and Matthew Yusuff, 23, were charged with murder.

They were also charged with the lesser alternative of manslaughter along with the third defendant Traore, 24.

On Friday, prosecutor William Davis announced that the Crown would seek a retrial on the outstanding charges.

Judge Gratwicke set a provisional six-week retrial date for December 2 despite opposition from defence barristers.

The Old Bailey heard all three defendants had applied to the High Court for their release from detention under habeas corpus and for a judicial review.

The High Court bid would be heard “as soon as possible” by Mr Justice Swift on or before January 29, the court was told.

Defence barrister Kerim Fuad KC said: “I only appear out of courtesy to the court. An application has been issued on a writ of habeas corpus to the High Court on behalf of the claimant Paul Yusuff and we await a hearing later this month.

“We maintain that the verdicts of not guilty by the jury were properly delivered which means that this court ceases, upon discharge of the defendants, to have any jurisdiction in this case as there is no existing count on any indictment before it.”

Judge Gratwicke said: “My fear is if we do not provisionally fix a date there is every possibility it will go further into 2025 and nobody wants that.

“I cannot see for the life of me any prejudice to the defendants by provisionally saying if there is to be a retrial it will take place on December 2 2024.”

The defendants attended the Old Bailey by video link from custody at Belmarsh high security prison.

The victim’s family sat in the well of the court.

Previously, the trial had heard how Mr Keise was chased and surrounded by three men in the early hours of October 29 2022.

Matthew Yusuff wielded a bottle and Paul Yusuff stabbed Mr Keise in the back three times with a knife, it was alleged.

The victim was rushed to hospital where he later died from his injuries.

Earlier that evening, Mr Keise had spent the evening drinking with friends at the Thirsty Bear pub in nearby Stamford Street.

They went on to the area of the Cubana Bar in Lower Marsh, near Waterloo Station shortly after 2am where their paths crossed with the defendants’ group, it was alleged.

Mr Davis had said: “Within just a few minutes, an innocuous, minor and quite insignificant disagreement grew to an altercation, and then escalated into a period of uncontrolled violence quite out of any proportion to the initiating event – all taking place in the streets of central London.”

The defendants had denied all the charges against them.