ELIJAH DAYONI SENTENCED FOR FATAL STABBING NEAR CATFORD IN SOUTH LONDON

In a tragic incident that shocked the community near Catford in south-east London, a 14-year-old boy named David Idowu lost his life after being fatally stabbed during an altercation on a football pitch close to his home. The attack occurred in June 2008, and the young victim succumbed to his injuries three weeks later at the Royal London Hospital, leaving his family devastated.

Elijah Dayoni, aged 16 and residing in Catford, was found guilty of the murder after a trial at the Old Bailey. The court sentenced him to a minimum of 12 years in detention. Despite his denial of the murder charge, DNA evidence linked Dayoni directly to David at the scene of the attack. The evidence included blood spots on a shirt he was wearing when arrested two days after the incident. The court heard that Dayoni was born in Congo and had been living in Angola until 2000. Prior to the killing, he had been under a supervision order for burglary and had been in care multiple times. Notably, he was expelled from school the previous year for possessing a replica gun.

David Idowu was a promising young boy with aspirations of becoming an aeronautics engineer. On the day of the attack, he was playing on Tabard Street, near his residence in Borough, when he was approached by Dayoni. Without warning, Dayoni stabbed David in the chest, an act that was captured on CCTV footage. The footage showed the assailant laughing and smiling as he chased the injured boy before David collapsed on Beckett Street. Passers-by attempted to provide first aid, but David’s condition worsened, and his heart stopped twice at the scene.

The court was informed that the attack was triggered by a dispute between groups of boys from David’s school and Walworth Academy. During the trial, a victim impact statement was read aloud by David’s mother, Grace Idowu, who expressed her heartbreak. She recounted how David had left for school that morning saying, “See you mummy,” and how that was the last time she saw her son alive. Mrs. Idowu described the pain of losing her child and said, “The knife which pierced David’s heart will keep the wounds open in our hearts forever.”

When Dayoni was apprehended, he was wearing the same shirt that forensic analysis confirmed had bloodstains from David. The court heard that although many witnesses saw the stabbing, few were willing to identify Dayoni or cooperate with the police. Detective Inspector Mick Norman commented on the difficulty of the investigation, noting that despite the number of witnesses, very few were prepared to come forward with information that could lead to a conviction. The judge, Mr. Justice Calvert-Smith, acknowledged that Dayoni did not intend to kill David but still found him guilty of murder, leading to the lengthy custodial sentence.