East London News A Force for the community…
TWO TEENS, both 16, were on trial at the Old Bailey in connection with the murder of Baptista Adjei in Stratford last October. On Tuesday this week, one was found guilty of murder and wounding. The other was found not guilt.
The convicted teen will return to the Old Bailey on 25th September for sentencing. The teen found not guilty was released. And the gang that encouraged the boy to commit murder? They weren’t before the Court. Presumably its leaders are still free, still able to ensnare and groom young boys and turn them into murderers of innocent victims.
The sorry story began when the two 16 year olds struck up a conversation on Snapchat with Adjei and his 15 year old friend. The two pairs of boys had seen each other hanging round Stratford, but Snapchat became a means to exchange a bit of banter – which then escalated. The boys taunted each other, as if to prove that they were “hard”, to the point where they were talking about whether they had stabbed anyone yet.
How can this happen? How are we bringing up our boy children if they think it is normal to brag about whether they have stabbed anyone? That they think that stabbing someone is “big” – a “duck” to be broken? How did these boys grow to their mid-teens without realising that such talk was the stuff of movies set in fictional cities, not real life? Our society owes a duty of care to teenagers to help them protect themselves from this feral violence. We’re letting them down.
And so it came that the two 15 year old friends took the bus to Stratford one day after school – only to find that one of the 16 year olds was on it. And it seems the one 16 year old phoned the second one to organise him getting on to the same bus, and this second 16 year old got on the same bus and when the 15 year olds came down the stairs to get off the 16 year old stabbed them.
One of the younger teens was injured in the arm and leg. He spent a week in an East London hospital and has since made a full recovery – physically. Batista was stabbed in the heart and lung. He ran off and reached the Stratford Centre, where he collapsed. Paramedics tried, but he was too badly injured and they could not save him.
News of the murder spread round Manor Park and one mother became suspicious and confronted her son. He admitted to her that he had attacked the other boys and his mother took him to an East London police station. Brave woman. He was charged with the murder and charges relating to injuring the second victim. This week he was convicted and next month he will be sentenced.
The police investigation assembled evidence that the second 16 year old had been on the same bus and had phoned the first one – and police charged him with conspiracy to murder. He was tried at the Old Bailey but found not guilty.
DCI Chris Soole, who led the investigation, said, “After killing Baptista and seriously injuring his friend, the killer took a bus back to his home in Manor Park. I am saddened that anyone can be of a mind-set where murder is considered an appropriate response to chat room banter or name calling. My thoughts are with Baptista’s family and friends and I sincerely hope that today’s verdict brings them a measure of peace at this saddest of times.”
Case Officer Detective Sergeant Suzanne Soren said, “For [this] mother to confront her son and make the decision to make him face the consequences of his actions must have taken considerable bravery. Her actions gave Baptista’s family the chance to get justice and some semblance of closure. She should be commended for making that decision, which was right and just.
“The ripples of such extreme violence reach far beyond those immediately involved causing fear and concern. The effects are devastating for our communities who too often are left to try and make sense of what is senseless. As Baptista’s family strive to live with their unimaginable loss, the defendants and their families will mourn their own futures together, so quickly lost with an imagined insult, and the point of a blade.
“This case is a sad and tragic example of a low level dispute escalating into the most serious of crimes and is cautionary tale for any young people who are tempted by a lifestyle of knife-carrying and violence. There is no glamour, ultimately, there is only loss.”
A spokesperson for Baptista’s family said, “Naturally we are disappointed with the verdict in relation to [the second defendant]. We accept the verdict for [the defendant who was convicted], we await the sentencing. Nothing and no sentence will bring back Baptista. We want this to be a lesson to those who glamourise this type of crime to bear in mind the long lasting damage it can do to the families involved.”
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Teen arrested after Stratford stabbing victim named
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