Last year Scarcity covered the story of a 16 year old boy called Teon Campbell Pitter being stabbed to death in New Cross, South London as he walked to “Double jab” boxing gym to train on the 13th April.
On Wednesday, 25 January 2023 the trial for two teenagers accused of his murder has concluded with a shocking result.
Due to English laws the teens names are not allowed to be published so we shall refer to Teon’s killer as “Jay” who is aged 16 and he was found not guilty of Teon’s murder but guilty of manslaughter at the Central Criminal Court,
Jay stabbed Teon Campbell-Pitter with a rambo knife at around 16:00hrs on 13 April as Teon who was with his social worker going to the gym.
He will be sentenced on Thursday, 9 February.
A second teenager [B] 16, was found not guilty of murder and not guilty of manslaughter.
Family
Following the coverage on the channel I received a message from Teon’s father who wanted to update me on the trial and of course the outcome.
During the trial I noticed the strength of a family trying to obtain justice and it was inspiring and even now Teon is no longer with us, his mother and father still make sure he is remembered and primarily desire answers for his needless death.
Teon’s dad shared all his concerns on the trial, including a witness being dismissed due to mistakes by the prosecution because the defendants saw them, and even attempts at blaming Teon for his own death by the defence. The frustration of his father was evident, in this article I want to highlight potential factors of the case that appear to have contributed to the verdict of not guilty for his son’s killer.
The Stabbing
Police were called at 16:06hrs on Wednesday, 13 April to Angus Street, SE14 following reports of a fight in progress.
Officers responded with the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.
Teon was found at the scene close to Fordham Park with stab injuries. Despite the efforts of paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination gave cause of death as a stab injury to the abdomen.
Detectives from Specialist Crime launched an investigation to establish what had happened.
Teon was not sat on a bench as previous reports stated, CCTV showed he was walking near the club when he was approached by the two youths and an altercation began, in which Teon sustained fatal injuries. The incident took place in broad daylight in an area busy with people.
Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Penney led the investigation. He said: “Teon and his attacker were known to each other and were not on good terms following a number of disputes going back some time, that eventually escalated with deadly consequences.
“Now one young teenage life has been lost and his families lives left in pieces, while another boy is going to spend the best years of his life in prison.
“If you carry a knife, I implore you to stop and think; the consequences are not a reality you want, or have to experience.”
Previous incident
The main defence argument was to make Teon appear to be guilty of his own death, evene bringing up an incident from a year before where Teon was arrested with a knife.
On March 23 2021, Teon and others were caught on CCTV appearing to act “aggressively” towards the youth on Lewisham High Street, jurors heard.
When the youth “pushed back”, he was struck with a crutch, it is claimed.
The prosecutor Ms O’Neill said: “The fighting between the groups persisted even when two adult members of the public intervened to try and separate them.
“Police were called and arrived very soon. Teon Campbell-Pitter and others were arrested for affray.
“When he was searched, Teon Campbell-Pitter told officers that he had a knife in his waistband, and so it proved to be – a 10-inch Rambo-style, silver serrated blade in a sheath.”
In a police interview, Teon failed to explain what happened but the other teen “Jay” told officers at the scene he had been “jumped”, the court heard.
In a phone call overheard by officers Jay allegedly said he was going to “kill the people who had jumped him.”
He denied knowing the attackers, allegedly telling police they had asked if he was in a gang called “Monson” and threatened to “wet him up”, meaning stab him.
This incident would be used in court to portray Teon as aggressive and intimidating when in reality during this incident in 2021 Teon didn’t use the weapon he had and also was attacked off camera himself.
The case that would follow led to Teon not being found guilty due to his involvement in county lines previously and the court recognising he was a victim of modern slavery.
Modern slavery
Teon’s family had spent years trying to protect him from the grooming of gangs in the local area, but as many parents will know this is easier said than done.
In 2020 Teon had gone missing and his mother made appeals for his safe return, the police she claimed didn’t take it seriously as children are always going missing in the city and found days later.
This mentality changed once courts identified the drug runners as modern slaves.
December 2017 saw the first use of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA) to target and criminalise actions of individuals involved in large drug networks which run ‘county lines’ operations. On 5 December 2017, Mahad Yusuf and Fesal Mahamud entered a guilty plea at Swansea Crown Court to the offence of trafficking a young person for the purposes of exploitation[1]. The pair also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
There is a real concern that the county lines model of drug distribution is a form of criminality that has at its very core the exploitation of young and vulnerable people. The NCA report highlights: “Some vulnerable individuals are trafficked into remote markets to work, whilst others are falsely imprisoned in their own homes, which have been taken over (cuckooed) using force or coercion”[2]. In response to the nature of these practices the police have had to increasingly consider the use of the trafficking and slavery offences found in the MSA 2015.
Teon was trying to change his life, his coach at the gym saw great talent in him and believed he could train for the Olympics the following year.
The road to change he was on wouldn’t be a easy journey but with the support of his family anthing was possible.
Trial
Throughout the trial Teon’s father updated me and one element of the case that majorly influenced the outcome was the witness being dismissed by the court after the defendants saw them while giving evidence.
This mistake by the court cost Teon’s family greatly and the witness information was vital to securing a conviction of murder.
The defendant also claimed he was scared of Teon and was acting to “defend himself”
I feel this claim is weak mainly based on the fact that Teon was unarmed and not being aggressive when he was attack infront of cctv and witnesses.
His killer had earlier told someone he wanted to “hurt Teon” and “hated him.” which also adds to it being premeditated and murder.
The anguish his family has been left with knowing his killer will be free in a few years is unimaginable for any parent to comprehend.
Is this justice and should the family appeal?
Father’s impact statement
This is the first publication of Teon’s dads victim impact statement to the judge.
Impact statement
I will like to start off by saying Teon was our 1st born son and a big brother to his younger siblings. Jay you say you never meant to kill Teon but unfortunately you have because of your evil act my son and best friend is no longer with me I say me but the whole of the family. We celebrated Teons 17th birthday at his grave that was so difficult having conversations with your child and knowing he can’t reply and seeing his brother break down was heartbreaking. This was our first Christmas without our beloved Teon and just didn’t seem right Christmas morning I was watching my children opening their presents and I had close my eyes and remember the year before seeing Teon opening his presents. This may seem little to you but this is massive to us and to “A” you may not of stabbed Teon but you knew what you was doing and your involvement otherwise you wouldn’t of coved face and rode off and if you was innocent you would stayed and try to help Teon.
Teon was not perfect but he never sat in the dock for taking someone’s child away. Teon was very loving and if it wasn’t for Teon I wouldn’t be here today he saved my life back in 2020 when I had covid he fed me cleaned me and shopped for me he prioritised his own heath to stay and look after me that’s the kind of person Teon was always put others first.
Jay I know you apologised but it didn’t seem genuine I felt you said for your own personal gain. However we are god fearing family so in time we can forgive but not forget.
Legacy
There was a common misconception that children groomed by drug dealers were guilty of the same offences until the modern slavery law 2015.
The court recognised Teon was a victim and the system in this case failed to protect him instead they villified him and portrayed him as a instigator of his own death.
A family is missing a piece of their jigsaw and it cant be replaced but more children will slip through the net if we don’t find justice in cases like this. There are families all over the country fighting to protect their children from these influences.
What deterrent is a short prison term for killing another human?
What lesson will these kids learn in prison and how will it help them or society after?
Teon made mistakes, we all do but most of us get to learn from them and Teon didn’t get that chance.
#justiceforteon #teonforever
https://youtu.be/61IxAhZ-68M
