Her teenage son was stabbed and slashed with a knife by his childhood friend during a horrific seven-hour ordeal
Kai Ashcroft, of Osbourne Road in Litherland, aged 18(Image: Merseyside Police)
A mum answered a phone call to be told her “baby boy had been held captive and treated like a dog”. Kai Ashcroft told the woman’s teenage son he would “happily do 20 years to life” before stabbing and slashing him with a knife during a horrific seven-hour ordeal.
The then 17-year-old Ashcroft also whipped his childhood friend with a belt and forced him to take hallucinogenic drugs while holding him hostage and threatening to “cut him up”. While being arrested, he then alarmingly confessed to police he planned to “hunt down and execute” his victim in a manner which he said would be “bloody as f***”.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday, Thursday, that Ashcroft and Harry Bradshaw had been friends between the ages of four and 10 before they moved to separate schools. However, they resumed contact in the months leading up to December 2025 via Instagram, leading to the two teens frequently meeting up.
Daniel Bramhall, prosecuting, detailed how Ashcroft, now aged 18, and 18-year-old Mr Bradshaw were together at the former’s home on Osbourne Road in Litherland on the evening of December 27 last year and had been taking cocaine before the “atmosphere shifted” in the early hours of the following day. This was said to have involved the defendant “becoming paranoid” at around 1am, asking his friend “who had sent him to his address”.
Mr Bradshaw responded by “asking him what was going on in his head”, at which stage Ashcroft “brought up an issue which took place when the pair were younger”. The complainant however stated he did not remember the incident in question, leading to an argument erupting between the two.
Ashcroft “became increasingly aggressive”, “blaming Mr Bradshaw for ruining his life” and telling him that he “owed him his life”. He went on to demand his victim “admitted it”, although he pleaded that he “wasn’t admitting anything that wasn’t true”.
But Ashcroft then began punching and kicking Mr Bradshaw before arming himself with a kitchen knife, waving the weapon around and again urging him to confess. He went on to state that he would “happily do 20 years to life for a scruffy c*** like you” and added: “I have nothing left.”
Being left “genuinely fearful for his life”, Mr Bradshaw then made admissions relating to the event while Ashcroft videoed him on his phone before hitting over the head with the device. With the mobile having been left damaged as a result, he demanded £200 before repeatedly “poking and slashing” the complainant with the knife, leaving him in “extreme pain” and with cuts to his legs.
Ashcroft then continued to film his assault using Mr Bradshaw’s phone, striking the “extremely frightened and shocked” teen while demanding he “say his own name and what he had done”. He went on to whip his victim using a leather belt with a metal buckle while calling him “a c***, a scruffy b****rd and a p***y”.
Mr Bradshaw was then ordered to take the hallucinogenic drug 2CB, eventually consuming half a pill after initially refusing to do so. Ashcroft thereafter told him this would “give him the worst trip”, adding ingesting the substance himself would result in it “looking nice while he cut him up”.
Later, Mr Bradshaw was forced to feed his assailant’s dogs and told to wash the blood from himself in the shower. The thug then “played with the knife” while looking through the complainant’s phone, during which time he would “periodically look up and grin” at his victim.
Ashcroft subsequently told Mr Bradshaw to phone his dad at 8am before ending this call and branding the other teenager a “bait little f***er”, warning him he would “probably kill him and stab his father”. He was ultimately allowed to return home in a taxi, with his attacker being arrested later the same day.
At this stage, Ashcroft told police he was “happy everything was out of the bag, because people needed to realise about Mr Bradshaw”. While getting dressed, he went on to add to officers that he “couldn’t wait to hunt Mr Bradshaw down” and was “thinking about how he was going to make Mr Bradshaw’s execution bloody as f***”.
Having been taken into custody, Ashcroft remarked upon arrival that the “boy got cut up” and said he “whipped him everywhere with his belt” and “enjoyed doing so”, having “whipped his head off and had so much fun doing it”. Mr Bramhall described the incident as a “prolonged and persistent assault” and added: “This is not somebody simply embarking on violence for the sake of violence.
“Mr Bradshaw was videoed. He was coerced into making a confession. The crown submit that there is an element of this being a revenge attack. It was committed by the defendant whilst he was under the influence of drugs, aggravated, perhaps, by the gratuitous degradation of the victim.
“This was an offence committed over a number of hours. The crown submit that there was detention over a protracted period of time. There was repeated or extreme violence.”
Mr Bradshaw’s mum Sandra Ierston addressed the court from the witness box during the hearing, saying in a statement: “My heart is broken over what’s happened to him. How do I help Harry heal from one of the most traumatic things happened to him, all of the torture he suffered for several hours? My poor boy.
“I don’t know what to do. I’m trying to be strong for him. How do I help him heal mentally? I’ve had a pain in my chest since I got the most horrendous phone call, to say my baby boy had been held captive and treated like a dog. No one has the right to do this to my son, especially someone Harry saw as a friend. This has destroyed us and massively impacted us as a family.”
His dad Mark Bradshaw meanwhile added in his own statement: “My son was covered in blood, petrified, in a catatonic state. I feel like a fool. I’ve known Kai since he was a young boy. I feel like I should have prevented it in some way.
“If it was a complete stranger, it would be easy to just be angry. Now I question my decision making about every interaction I’ve had with Kai as he was growing up, a friend of my son. We want the court to understand that this was not a single incident, but a prolonged and terrifying ordeal, followed by ongoing fear, intimidation and uncertainty, the consequences of which continue to affect Harry and our family.”
Ashcroft has no previous convictions. Jim Smith, defending, told the court: “He has spent almost five months in detention, the first period in detention that he has ever had. That has, of course, had a significant impact upon him, bearing in mind that this is the defendant’s first conviction.
“There is no intention of the defendant causing further harm to the victim and his wider family. He knows that he has to work very hard on himself to improve his condition and ensure this type of event never takes place again.
“His letter to your honour summarises his regret and hopes for the future. Your honour will have seen the letter from his mother. She elicits it certainly more eloquently than me, the kind of compassionate, caring son he has been to her. She discusses his early life and challenges.
“Your honour will see some positive hope and can be reassured that work is being done with this defendant in the custodial environment. He has engaged well. He has engaged with the mental health support available in the young offenders’ institute.
“He has been officially diagnosed with ADHD. The defendant also suffers with autism and a mental disorder due to the dependency that he had on multiple drugs. He suffers with vitamin deficiency due to nitrous oxide abuse.”
Mr Smith also outlined how Ashcroft had experienced the death of his 10-year-old cousin and suffered a fractured skull after being attacked in the weeks before the incident, adding: “There was a perfect storm for this vulnerable young man when these offences were committed. I would submit that there is remorse in this case.
“This is a highly difficult and complex case. Ultimately, your honour must make a decision whether or not your honour can consider what is a comprehensive package by the youth offending team.”
Ashcroft admitted wounding with intent and false imprisonment. Appearing via video link to HMYOI Wetherby wearing a grey Under Armour jumper and with his long dark hair tied in a ponytail, he was handed three years in a young offenders’ institute and a lifelong restraining order.
Sentencing, Judge Katherine Pierpoint said: “You and the complaint have known each other since you were very young. You had been back in contact with each other. You gave no indication that there were any issues between the two of you.
“On the 27th of December, you both went to your address and both of you took cocaine. At about one o’clock in the morning, the atmosphere changed. You started to act in a paranoid way. You became aggressive. You told him that he had ruined your life. This was to do with a matter that dated back over a decade before. You blamed him for that.
“You stood over him and punched him to the left side of his face. You then proceeded to kick him several times before you went into the kitchen and returned with a knife. You then subjected the complainant to a prolonged, horrific and terrifying ordeal which lasted about seven hours. He thought that he was going to die in your house that night.
“There could never be any excuse or justification for what you did. Over the course of about seven hours, you ended up hitting him with your phone, telling him that he then owed you money for that phone, all the while holding that knife. You poked at him and slashed him with the knife on several occasions.
“You then picked up his phone, demanded his PIN number and started to video some of the events of what was taking place. It showed you making demands, acting aggressively, in a paranoid way, and physically striking him on a number of occasions. What is clear is that the complainant was frightened, scared and helpless in your house.
“You also used a leather belt on him, which had a buckle on, and hit him to the body and head several times. He felt powerless. You told him to take a particular drug. At first he refused, but he felt that he had no choice. You said to him that pill would give him the worst trip, and that you taking it would mean it would look nice for you while you cut him up.
“It is concerning, some of the comments that you made during your arrest. You said that you were happy to go as far as this needed. As you were putting your shoes on, you said you couldn’t wait to hunt Mr Bradshaw down and were going to make the execution of him, in your words, bloody as f***.
“This, in my judgment, was a cruel, violent and intimidating attack, designed to hurt, humiliate, petrify and control Mr Bradshaw for that period of time. The impact of this offending has been profound, not only for Mr Bradshaw but also his wider family.
“His father, I am sure, will never forget the state he saw his son in when he arrived back at his address. His own mother describes that she was heartbroken to hear what happened to her son and see him in the state he was in.
“It is not just the physical scars and injuries that were occasioned to Mr Bradshaw. They may well heal over time, but it is the emotional impact that this sort behaviour has that makes this so serious. It has left Mr Bradshaw feeling frightened and anxious. Mr Bradshaw, in my judgement, is a brave young man. I hope, with the support of a clearly supportive family, he is able to begin to heal.
“You, at the time of these offences, were 17 years and 10 months old. I have read the letter that you have written to me. You express remorse and sorrow for what you have done. You say you know now that you made wrong choices. You now, in the cold, sober light of day, know that alcohol and drugs do not help you. You have struggled over the last few months, your first period of time in a custodial institution.
“I have also read with care the letter that your mother has written. There are a number of members of your family here to support you today. She speaks of the difficult upbringing that you had. She does describe another side to you. You have provided support for family members and have the ability to be a kind and considerate young man.
“You are somebody who has not had an easy start to life. You have experienced several adverse childhood experiences. You have witnessed domestic abuse. You have been exposed to physical abuse yourself. You had numerous involvements with social care. You were excluded from school in 2023, but did obtain four GCSEs.
“You have been diagnosed, since 2024, with autism, and you also now have a diagnosis in relation to ADHD. I accept that, at the time of this offence and the build up to it, your mental health was deteriorating. You had, only a few weeks before, very sadly lost your younger cousin, who was only 10 years of age. I do not doubt that will have affected everybody in your family.
“You have been using drugs since you were about 15 years of age. It is to your credit that, over the last few months that you have been on remand, you have applied yourself well. You have engaged with mental health services. It shows what you can do when you abstain from drugs and take up the support that is offered to you. I accept that, in the cold, sober light of day, you do show remorse for what you did.”