Stevenage man convicted of Kajetan Migdal prom night murder

A man has been found guilty of murdering a teenager in an “unprovoked” attack on the night of the victim’s school prom.

Kajetan Migdal, 18, died after being stabbed on Cutty’s Lane in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, on 27 May 2022, after he had been at the Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School event.

Patrick Sharp-Meade, now 20, mistakenly believed the teenager and three friends had spoken to his ex-girlfriend.

Sharp-Meade, of Cutty’s Lane, admitted the killing but denied murder, claiming he suffered “neurodevelopmental disorders” that affected his behavior. A jury at Luton Crown Court rejected the defense case and convicted him of murder.

The trial heard how the group of friends had attended their school prom at the Holiday Inn.

They returned to Mr Migdal’s car – parked on Sharp-Meade’s street – where they intended to change before heading to an after-party in Cambridge.

Prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff KC told the court: “They were approached by the defendant who was armed with a large zombie-style knife. He had it concealed down his tracksuit trousers.”

She said the friends had backed away but Mr Migdal had not finished changing and “momentarily stood his ground.”

The defendant approached and stabbed him in the chest, the jury heard.

He was rushed to Stevenage’s Lister hospital, where he died in the early hours of the morning.

The jury was told that on the night of the stabbing the defendant’s ex-girlfriend was heading to Sharp-Meade’s flat to collect a fur hood. As she walked past the group she was talking to a friend on her mobile.

The defendant, who was in the flat with the person taking the call, heard the conversation and could hear the four teenagers talking in the background.

The prosecutor said: “As a result of hearing them in the background, he became irrationally jealous.

“The defendant armed himself with a knife. Once the ex-girlfriend arrived he threw her hood at her. He put on a balaclava and speed-walked to find and confront those who he wrongly thought had engaged with her.”

Mr Kajetan had appeared on BBC TV’s Greatest Dancer.

He was a member of a dance group called Prospects Fraternity, and had also won first place in an under-14 category of the World Street Dancing Championships in 2017.

When the murder verdict was delivered, his family and friends, seated in the public gallery, gasped before crying and hugging.

Sharp-Meade will be sentenced on May 17.

Judge John Hillen told him: “The jury has convicted you of murder. The only sentence I can pass is life, but I have to set a minimum terms.”