A teenager has been cleared of murdering Cults Academy pupil Bailey Gwynne.
The 16-year-old, who can not be named for legal reasons, was on trial at the High Court in Aberdeen for a week accused of murdering his fellow pupil on October 28.
The accused has always admitted killing Bailey by striking him through he heart with a knife, however he denied murder.
This afternoon a jury of seven men and eight women took an hour and 40 minutes to clear him of murder and instead found him guilty of culpable homicide.
The teen was also found guilty of carrying knives and knuckle dusters at the school over a period of two years.
He will be sentenced at a later date after reports are complied.
During the trial the court heard Bailey collapsed in a school corridor after walking 100 yards just after being stabbed through the heart following a row over a biscuit.
Witnesses said they watched as the tragic teen and the accused came to blows outside a toilet block after a remark was made about Bailey’s mother being “fat”.
The accused later told police he only meant to “scare” Bailey away when he pulled a knife from his blazer pocket and waved it at him.
The boy said that he had ducked down to protect himself as Bailey came towards him, with the knife held out in front of him.
He claimed he was unaware he had stabbed his fellow pupil until a teacher split them up and he noticed blood on Bailey’s shirt.
The court was shown a video recording of the interview the teenager gave to the police and when he was told he was being charged with murder he broke down and said: “I did try and save him.”
The jury previously heard evidence that the accused had been seen with a knife several times in school and that he had brought knuckledusters on to the premises “40 or 50 times”.
In his police interview the accused, who is also charged with being in possession of knives and knuckledusters while at the school, said he carried weapons with him “every day”.
He said he did it to “look cool” and to “look tough”.
