(Update) British court convicts killer of Harry Potter film actor
Agence France-Presse | 03/04/2009 11:49 PM
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LONDON - A London court on Wednesday convicted a 22-year-old man of the frenzied murder of a teenage actor who stars in the latest Harry Potter film.
Karl Bishop, who had been convicted for previous knife crime, was found guilty of the killing of 18-year-old Rob Knox outside a bar in Sidcup, southeast London, last May.
The actor was stabbed after stepping in to protect his younger brother Jamie, who he heard had been threatened by Bishop.
"Unhappily, his courage and his sense of duty were to cost him his life," said prosecutor Brian Altman, calling Bishop a "habitual knife carrier" who thought of stabbing people as an "occupational hazard."
One witness at the trial at London's Old Bailey described how Bishop's face was "screwed up in rage" as he lashed out with two kitchen knives.
His reaction when he heard Knox had died was "yeah, sweet," the court was told.
Knox had finished filming for his part as student Marcus Belby in "Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince," which is set for release in July.
His parents, Sally and Colin, broke down in tears as the trial ended.
His father told the court in a statement: "His life was stolen, taken without permission. He was taken in the most cruel way possible.
"I talk to Rob every day. I know he is beside me right now. He has been with me ever since his death."
Colin Knox had told hundreds of mourners at his son's funeral, including Harry Potter star Rupert Grint, that he had been "living the dream" by appearing in the films.
The jury heard Bishop was furious that the actor, a well-built teenager who played rugby, had confronted him a week before the attack when he went to the same bar aggressively accusing drinkers of stealing his mobile phone.
The fatal attack was part of a rash of stabbings of young people in London last year. Bishop is to be sentenced Thursday and faces life imprisonment.
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