Sixth murder charge over Shakilus' death

7:35am Monday 14th July 2008

A 17-year-old is due to appear before Sutton Magistrates' Court charged with the murder of Shakilus Townsend in Thornton Heath.

The male teen is the sixth person to be charged with the 16-year-old's murder.

Tyrell Ellis, 18, of Springfield Road, Thornton Heath, a 17-year-old male, two 16-year-old boys, and a 15-year-old girl all appeared before magistrates last week charged with murder.

All five have been remanded in custody to appear before the Old Bailey on October 16.

Shakilus Townsend, of Tanners Hill, Deptford, was stabbed and hit around the head with a baseball bat in Beulah Crescent on July 3.

The boy, known to his family as Shaki, was taken to St George's Hospital in Tooting, where he underwent five hours of surgery before dying of complications just after midnight on July 4.