A TEENAGER who stabbed his best friend to death had a fascination with knives, it was revealed.

Trent Hutchinson, 17, was jailed for life for the murder of 18-year-old Ollie Wells in Newhaven in January.

After standing trial and being found guilty of murder, more details emerged of Hutchinson’s interest in knives.

A neighbour said the boy produced a 25cm machete on his doorstep just months before the murder.

The neighbour said: “I wish I had said something. When I saw the machete I just told him ‘I do not want to know’ and Hutchinson said ‘fair enough’.”

The Argus:

Trent Hutchinson has been jailed for life

His mother Rita Hutchinson had found knives stashed under her son’s bed, it was revealed.

Meanwhile the police had been called to the boy’s home in Newhaven on “several occasions” over reports of violence against his mother, prosecutor Sarah Jones QC said.

It included him becoming out of control and damaging property, but his mother had not pressed charges.

Read more on this story: Judge and victim's family back Argus appeal to lift Trent Hutchinson's anonymity 

The prosecutor said 2019 had been a bad year for Hutchinson, who had gone off the rails and appeared before youth courts for crimes including burglary and interfering with car vehicles.

One victim reported being awoken by the teenager in their home looking for keys to a Mercedes on the driveway.

A group drove away, but Hutchinson was identified by the victim.

Another burglary showed him on CCTV breaking into a garage before riding off on a moped which was later abandoned.

A further burglary was reported at a sports pavilion where teens were found drinking. Hutchinson was identified via his DNA.

His final theft offence found him in possession of gloves, a stolen bank card, and materials used for hot-wiring cars, the court heard.

The Argus:

The case was heard at Hove Crown Court

But youth workers and his defence barrister Thomas Nicholson-Pratt said the murder offence was unusual because Hutchinson had been making progress with the youth offender team.

It was revealed he had suffered an incident when he was younger.

His mother said it had changed her son, and divided her family. It had “substantially changed him”, Mr Nicholson-Pratt said.

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But no proceedings were ever brought in relation to the incident Hutchinson suffered.

It led to him self-harming and struggling to deal with his attention deficit and hyperactive disorder and anger management.

Mr Nicholson-Pratt said Hutchinson did feel “remorse” over the fact his best friend had died at his hands. He said both boys had an interest in knives and had fallen in with the “wrong” crowd.

But he said Hutchinson’s interest with knives had waned in the weeks before the murder, not stashing any under his bed and selling the machete.

The Argus:

Ollie Wells was killed

Judge Jeremy Gold QC said Hutchinson had shown a “shocking explosion of violence” that was “difficult to understand” as he jailed the boy for life, with a minimum term of 14 years.

During sentencing the judge said: “I don’t suppose we will ever know exactly what it was that caused friction between you and Ollie on the night of January 6, although I’m sure you have not even begun to tell the truth about it.”

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