Gavin’s 16-year-old killer is jailed (From Croydon Guardian)

Gavin’s 16-year-old killer is jailed

1:36pm Thursday 25th January 2007

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A 16-year-old boy has been found guilty of killing Gavin Brown at Parkfields recreation ground in Shirley in October, 2005.

The boy, who is from Shirley but cannot be named, was tried for the same crime last year but a jury at the Old Bailey failed to reach a verdict. He was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter.

Gavin, of Westgate Road, South Norwood, was taken to hospital suffering from a serious neck wound after an incident at the park. He died just one hour later and a postmortem gave the cause of death as a single stab wound to the neck.

During an extensive investigation police interviewed nearly 40 youths. The weapon, a 10-inch commando-style knife with a serrated edge, was recovered during a search of the area.

Police said they also received a 999 call from a boy claiming he had been attacked with a knife during the incident.

They later discovered he was the person responsible for killing 17-year-old Gavin.

The boy, who was 15 at the time, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Saturday, October 15, 2005.

In an interview, he admitted taking the knife to the park, claiming he wanted to get someone to photograph it with a mobile phone and bluetooth' it to him to enable him to sell it.

An empty knife sheath was found inside his trousers.

The defendant told detectives that while in the park he gave his knife to another youth who then handed it to Gavin.

The Old Bailey heard witnesses describe how Gavin, one of the elder members of the group, admonished the defendant for bringing the knife and showing it off in front of younger children.

A struggle followed, during which the defendant retrieved his knife. As the struggle continued, Gavin sustained a stab wound to his left chest. The fight culminated in the defendant stabbing Gavin in the left side of his neck while he was on his knees.

During the struggle, another youth hit the defendant on the head with a bottle. The attacker said he put the knife in a bag and fled through the grounds of Bethlem Royal Hospital.

After the hearing Detective Inspector Neil Cochlin, who led the investigation, said: "This crime shows only too clearly the dangers of carrying knives in public. The defendant's decision to bring a knife to the park and show it off to the other teenagers resulted in a death that Gavin Brown's family will never fully recover from and which will blight their lives for decades."

Det Insp Cochlin also gave this warning: "If you carry weapons you have to realise that it will invariably lead to trouble for you and can lead to tragic incidents like this in which others suffer for your stupidity."

The 16-year-old is due to be sentenced on Friday, February 23.

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