Two schoolboys who fatally stabbed another student during a dispute in April last year have pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The accused, who are juveniles, were charged with murder but pleaded guilty yesterday to the lesser offence when they appeared in the Home Circuit Court.

A third schoolboy was charged in connection with the offence but he absconded bail. A bench warrant was issued for him.

The facts of the case were that 17-year-old Michael Gayle, a student at Excelsior High School, was stabbed in the chest on April 15, 2005. The court was told that the boys had a dispute at a gas station when Gayle was stabbed.

Justice Lloyd Hibbert has put off sentencing until next week Wednesday.

Probation reports were ordered for the two accused following applications made by defence lawyers Marjorie Shaw-Currie and Sandra Alcott.