Brothers found guilty of killing schoolboy

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

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Two brothers have been found guilty of killing a ten year-old schoolboy. Damilola Taylor, who was born in Nigeria and had only been in the United Kingdom for a couple of months, was stabbed in the leg and died in the stairwell of a housing estate in Peckham in south London in 2000.

Eighteen year-old Danny Preddie and nineteen year-old Rickie Preddie, who live in Peckham, were convicted of manslaughter in a retrial at the Old Bailey this afternoon.

On hearing the verdict, Rickie Preddie started shouting and swearing. "You are corrupt. You are nothing," he told the judge, who then ordered prison officers surrounding the teenager to take him out of the court.

Outside the court, Damilola's father Richard Taylor said: "We, the family, feel nobody can ever return our son to us. But it is a great comfort that justice has finally been done for Damilola. We pray that his gentle soul can now rest in peace."

The head of homicide and serious crime at the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Crime Directorate, Commander Dave Johnston, said: "Today justice has finally been reached for Damilola. His violent death in 2000 sent shockwaves throughout London and beyond. For his family it was a very personal tragedy played out in a very public arena and I would like to acknowledge the courage and dignity with which Gloria and Richard Taylor have supported us throughout the police investigations."

The two brothers had been cleared earlier this year of murder and assault at an earlier trial.

They will be sentenced in two weeks time.