John created characters inspired by James Bond and the Men in Black and devised a scheme to convince a 16-year-old boy, Mark to murder him. John reportedly fell in love with Mark, and posed as a teenage girl to win him over. He then created other characters, and launched a bizarre 007 inspired plot to convince Mark to carry out the deed. Posing as a female secret agent, Agent 47695, John first told Mark that she had been assigned as John’s protector but then later ordered Mark to kill John as part of an initiation test for the British secret services. Agent 47695 also offered Mark a reward of money, a gun and a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair if he carried out the murder. 

John reportedly was having trouble with his stepfather and had a falling out with friends at school when he launched the plot for his own murder.

The plot was carried out on June 29th of last year. Mark stabbed John in the chest and abdomen, inflicting nearly fatal wounds but then called authorities on his mobile phone. The boys reported that John was attacked by a man in black who dragged him into an alley and then stabbed him. 

Police launched a man-hunt, but their investigation then turned to the boys. Investigators found hours of chat logs that spelled out the details of the developing plot. The final exchange reportedly happened the night before with Mark asking John’s character Agent 47695, "U want me 2 take him 2 trafford centre and kill him in the middle of trafford centre??" Which was answered with a simple "Yes". 

John plead guilty to incitement to murder and perverting the course of justice. He was sentenced to a three-year supervision order, banned from using the Internet without adult supervision and forbidden to contact Mark. 

Mark was sentenced to a two-year supervision order for the crime of attempted murder. 

Manchester Judge David Maddison was mystified by the crime. According to the Gaurdian Maddison said of the case, "Skilled writers of fiction would struggle to conjure
up a plot such as that which arises here. It's staggering to be dealing with a case that arises out of a14-year-old boy's invention of false personalities, false relationships and events arranged for his own killing at the hands of a 16-year-old boy who he had met via an internet chatroom."
 
 

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