Man guilty of killing boy, 16, in front of mother

"Jurors were told that Audrey Johnson desperately tried to protect her son when they kicked down the door on 1 July 2021, and tried to grab from one of the attackers' large black zombie knife with a serrated, curved 16-inch (40cm) blade. On Thursday, Gordon was found guilty of manslaughter. He was the fourth person to be convicted for their part in Camron's death."

"The court heard how the masked group entered two other properties in Bracken Avenue, Croydon, before kicking down the door of Camron's home and forcing their way in. After a struggle downstairs, they chased Camron upstairs to a bedroom where he attempted to barricade himself and his mother inside. Jurors heard that Ms Johnson stood, arms outstretched, in between her son and the group in an attempt to stop them."

"Gordon, who was 17 at the time, was later seen on CCTV fleeing from the stolen taxi and disposing of a large machete in an adjacent road. The trial heard he had left the country two days after the killing, before he could be identified and arrested. Following the conviction, Gordon was remanded into custody to be sentenced at a later date."

On 1 July 2021 a masked group armed with knives forced entry into multiple properties on Bracken Avenue, Croydon, searching for 16-year-old Camron Smith. The group kicked down Camron's door, struggled downstairs, and chased him upstairs where he attempted to barricade himself and his mother. Audrey Johnson stood between her son and the attackers and tried to grab one attacker's large black zombie knife. Camron, unarmed and dressed only in his underwear, was surrounded and fatally stabbed. Romario Gordon, who was 17 at the time, was later identified, convicted of manslaughter, remanded pending sentence, and had fled the country shortly after the killing. Three other men received convictions and prison sentences related to the incident.

Read at www.bbc.com