Death of Damilola Taylor

Damilola Taylor (7 December 1989 – 27 November 2000) was a ten-year-old

Death of Damilola T aylor
schoolboy who died in England in what became one of the country's most high-
profile killings. Several young boys were cleared of murder charges after a lengthy Date 27 November 2000
trial, and later two brothers were convicted ofmanslaughter. Location Peckham, London,
England
Convicted Ricky Preddie, Danny
Contents Preddie
Charges Manslaughter
Early life
Death Verdict Guilty

Trials Convictions Manslaughter

First trial
New evidence
Second trial
Retrial for manslaughter
In popular culture
See also
References
Notes
Citations
External links

Early life
Damilola Taylor was born in Lagos, Nigeria, to Richard and Gloria Taylor (died 8
Damilola Taylor
April 2008).[1] He attended Wisdom Montessori School inIkosi, Ketu, Lagos, before
he traveled to the United Kingdom in August 2000 with his family to allow his sister Born Damilola Taylor
Gbemi[2] to seek treatment for epilepsy. 7 December 1989
Lagos, Lagos State,
Nigeria
Death
Died 27 November 2000
On 27 November 2000, Taylor set off from Peckham Library at 4:51 pm to make his (aged 10)
way home. He was captured on CCTV as he walked away. On approaching the Peckham, London,
North Peckham Estate he received a gash to his left thigh, severing an artery. England
Staggering to a stairwell, he collapsed and bled to near death in the space of
Cause of Stabbing
approximately 30 minutes. He was still alive in an ambulance on his way to hospital.
death
Different forensic scientists have presented different events that could have given Residence London, England, UK
Taylor his fatal wounds. The theory accepted by the Metropolitan Police is that he Nationality Nigerian British
was attacked and fell on a broken bottle, later bleeding to death. He died 10 days
Citizenship Nigerian, British
before his 11th birthday.
Occupation Student
Known for Murder victim
Trials
Parent(s) Richard Taylor (father)
First trial Gloria Taylor (mother;
died of heart attack)
In 2002, four youths, including two 16-year-old brothers, went on trial at the Old
Bailey for the murder of Damilola. The trial led to all four suspects being acquitted. Two were acquitted on the direction of the judge
after he ruled that the prosecution's key witness, a 14-year-old girl, was unreliable; the jury found the other two not guilty. As well as
questioning the reliability of the young witness, the defence presented evidence suggesting that Taylor's wounds were consistent with
his falling on a broken bottle and that he had not been the victim of an attack.

New evidence
Despite the setback, police vowed to keep the investigation open. New DNA techniques identified Damilola's blood on the trainers of
another boy (not one of the first four suspects) Daniel Preddie[3] and on the sweatshirt cuff of his brother Richard Preddie.[4] This led
to a re-examination of the evidence obtained at the time of Taylor's death.[4] In 2005, fresh arrests were made, this time on charges of
manslaughter. The arrested were Hassan Jihad 19, and the two Preddie brothers aged 16 and 17 who could not be named at the time
due to their age.

Second trial
On 23 January 2006, Jihad (now 21 years old) and the two brothers (aged 17 and 18) not named for legal reasons, appeared at the Old
Bailey to face charges of his manslaughter and assault before the start of their imminent trial.

The trial commenced on 24 January 2006. In the trial Alastair Wilson, associate clinical director at the Royal London Hospital and
one of Britain's top trauma experts, testified that he thought that aylor
T had died after falling on a shard of glass.[5]

On 29 March, the jury retired to consider its verdict. On 3 April, Jihad was cleared by the jury of all charges in relation to Damilola's
death.[6] The jury could not reach a verdict on the charges of manslaughter against the two brothers, so they were set free, but with
the possibility of a retrial on those charges. On 6 April, the Crown Prosecution Serviceannounced that the two would be re-tried.

Retrial for manslaughter

The retrial of the two brothers began on 23 June. The two brothers, then over 18, were named as Danny and Ricky Preddie, of
Peckham, south London.[6] Both defendants were very well known to police, being involved in multiple robberies.
[7]

On 9 August 2006, Ricky Gavin Preddie (born 1987, Lambeth, London) and Danny Charles Preddie (born 1988, Lambeth), after a
T [6]
33-day retrial, were convicted of the manslaughter of Damilola aylor.

[8]
During the retrial it was noted that, while the police did follow procedure collecting evidence, lapses occurred in the prosecution.

.[9]
On 9 October 2006, an Old Bailey judge sentenced the Preddie brothers to eight years in youth custody for manslaughter

Although it was widely reported in the media that Taylor's parents were unhappy that the sentences had not been longer, the judge,
Mr Justice Goldring, went to some lengths to explain the factors he was forced to take into account. These included the age of the
offenders at the time (12 and 13), and that there was no evidence to suggest that there had been a plan to kill Taylor. In addition, the
weapon used had not been carried to the scene of the crime, but was found lying on the ground.

Both brothers were set to beparoled in 2010 after serving half of their sentence. Ricky was released on 8 September 2010,[10] subject
to probation supervision, and subject to recall to custody if he breached the conditions or if his behaviour indicated that it was no
longer safe to allow him to remain in the community. Ricky was reported in 2010 to have told his mother he was deeply sorry for
killing Damilola.[11] Danny was released in 2011. Ricky was recalled on 13 March 2011 because he was seen in Peckham, and
associating with gang members, both contrary to his parole conditions.[12] He was released again on 25 January 2012.[13] However,
he was again recalled to prison in February 2012 after a stolen motorbike was discovered at his bail hostel, breaching the terms of
release.[14]
In popular culture
Children's author Beverley Naidoo dedicated her award-winning book "The Other Side of Truth" (2000), about two Nigerian child
refugees aged 10 and 12, to Damilola Taylor. She recalled how when she went to accept the Smarties Silver Award for the book,
Naidoo heard the shocking news of Damilola Taylor’s death on his way home from Peckham Library, which was a relevant area in
the novel. As a result she organised an ongoing donation of10p to the Refugee Council from every book sold.[15]

Writer Stephen Kelman was nominated for the 2011 Man Booker Prize for his debut novel Pigeon English, inspired in part by the
Taylor incident.[16]

Actor John Boyega and his sister Grace were some of the last people to see Damilola alive. The three were friends and the Boyegas
[17]
helped watch Taylor. John and Grace Boyega were very close to Damilola, who had arrived from Nigeria in 1999.

A 90-minute dramatisation of the events leading to his death and the Taylor family's search for justice premiered on the BBC in
November 2016 entitledDamilola, Our Loved Boy.[18]

See also
Timeline of children's rights in the United Kingdom

References

Notes
1. Allen, Nick (9 April 2008)."Damilola Taylor's mother Gloria dies"(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/158448
4/Damilola-Taylors-mother-Gloria-dies.html). Telegraph. London.
2. "Damilola Taylor's mother dies of a suspectedheart attack near where he was murdered 10 years ago"(http://www.d
ailymail.co.uk/news/article-558384/Damilola-Taylors-mother-dies-suspected-heart-attack-near-murdered-10-years-ag
o.html). Mail Online. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
3. Graff, Vincent (4 April 2015) "DNA of a killer", Radio T
imes, Pages 24–27
4. Stubley, Peter (2010) Damilola Taylor: Welcome to modern Britain(https://web.archive.org/web/20160409045317/htt
p://courtnewsuk.co.uk/c_famous_crime_cases/a_damilola_taylor/crime_vaults/) Court News UK, Retrieved 3 April
2015
5. " 'Fall on glass killed Damilola'" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4783930.stm)
. BBC News. 7
March 2006.
6. "Damilola Taylor: Timeline" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4791094.stm)
. BBC News. 9 August 2006.
7. Tendler, Stewart (10 August 2006)."His killers were street children, fearless and brutal with no remorse"(https://web.
archive.org/web/20080720032538/http://www .timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article604939.ece) . The Times.
Archived from the original (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article604939.ece) on 20 July 2008.
8. (9 December 2002) Damilola case 'exposed legal flaws'(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2557647.stm)BBC News, UK,
Retrieved 5 April 2015
9. "Eight years for Damilola killers"(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6032691.stm)
. BBC News. 9
October 2006.
10. Edwards, Richard (8 September 2010)."Damilola Taylor's killer Ricky Preddie released" (https://www.telegraph.co.u
k/news/uknews/crime/7990372/Damilola-Taylors-killer-Ricky-Preddie-released.html). The Daily Telegraph. London.
11. Owens, Nick (12 September 2013)Ricky Preddie is sorry for killing Damilola, says mum(https://www.mirror.co.uk/ne
ws/uk-news/ricky-preddie-is-sorry-for-killing-damilola-246867)Daily Mirror, retrieved 3 April 2015
12. Mackay, Don (26 January 2012) [14 March 2011]. "Damilola Taylor's killer Ricky Preddie is recalled to prison" (http
s://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/03/14/damilola-taylor-s-killer-ricky-preddie-is-r
ecalled-to-prison-115875-2
2988018/). Daily Mirror. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
13. "Damilola Taylor killer Ricky Preddie releasedfrom jail" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16722402).
BBC News. 25 January 2012.
14. "Damilola Taylor killer Ricky Preddie recalledto prison" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16984548).
London: BBC. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
15. Hope, Julia (2017). Children's Literature About Refugees: A Catalyst in the Classroom
. UCL/IOE Press. p. 69.
ISBN 978-1-85856-696-2.
16. "Stephen Kelman: 'I feel that I've gatecrashed the Booker Prize shortlist'"
(https://archive.is/20130421123108/http://w
ww.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/book/article-23984572-stephen-kelman-i-feel-that-ive-gatecrashed-the-booker-prize-s
hortlist.do). The London Evening Standard, 7 September 2011.
17. "Star Wars' John Boyega was one of last people to see Damilola Taylor alive, says father"(https://www.theguardian.c
om/film/2015/dec/23/star-wars-force-awakens-john-boyega-damilola-taylor-friend) . The Guardian. Press Association.
23 December 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
18. McIntosh, Steven (7 November 2016)."Damilola Taylor: TV drama tells the story behind the headlines" (https://www.
bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37790581). BBC. Retrieved 2 April 2017.

Citations
"Damilola: Carefree boy with big dreams". BBC News.
30 January 2002. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
"Damilola Taylor: Timeline". BBC News. 9 August
2006. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
[1]
Patrick Wintour and Vikram Dodd (12 April 2007).
"Blair blames spate of murders on black culture"
.
London: Politics.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October
2010.
Bennetto, Jason (27 April 2006)."Black people are
'four times more likely to be murdered' – Crime, UK –
The Independent". London: News.independent.co.uk.
Archived from the original on 7 January 2009.
Retrieved 18 October 2010.
Griffiths, Emma (9 August 2006)."Damilola blood
spots 'missed' ". BBC News. Retrieved 18 October
2010.
"Damilola murder accused in court". BBC News. 7
January 2005. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
"Trio in court over Damilola death". BBC News. 23
January 2006. Retrieved 18 October 2010.

External links
Damilola Taylor Trust

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