Man guilty over death of boy stabbed in front of his mother

A man has been found guilty of killing a 16-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in front of his mother in her bedroom.

Romario Gordon, 22, was part of a group armed with knives who were “effectively hunting as a pack” as the searched for Camron Smith, the Old Bailey heard.

Earlier, they had hijacked a Toyota Prius minicab and unleashed a crimewave in Croydon, south London, as they looked for revenge for another stabbing.

The masked group entered two other properties before kicking down the door of Camron’s home and forcing their way in early on July 1 2021.

After a struggle downstairs, they chased Camron upstairs to a bedroom where he attempted to barricade himself and his mother, Audrey Johnson, inside.

Jurors were told that Ms Johnson desperately tried to protect her son and tried to grab a large black zombie knife with a serrated, curved 16-inch blade brandished by one of the attackers.

She then stood, arms outstretched, in between her son and the group in an attempt to stop them.

But within minutes, Camron had been surrounded and fatally stabbed at the property in Bracken Avenue. He was unarmed and dressed only in his underwear.

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 that he had left the country two days after the killing, before he could be identified and arrested.

On Thursday, Gordon was found guilty of manslaughter after a jury deliberated for nearly nine hours.

Judge Anuja Dhir KC remanded him into custody to be sentenced on a date to be fixed.

At an earlier trial, Gordon was cleared of murdering 17-year-old Damani Mauge who was stabbed in the chest and neck with a 24cm blade on a London bus in March 2020.

He is the fourth defendant to be convicted for their part in Camron’s death.

Romain La Pierre, 22, was found guilty of murder and robbery of the minicab and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 28 years at a previous Old Bailey trial.

James Olanipekun, 19, was convicted of robbery and manslaughter and jailed for eight years.

Jordan Tcheuko, 21, was convicted of Camron’s manslaughter and jailed for 15 years.