Damilola Taylor: A Tragic Loss That Shook South London

We’re back, Trevors! It’s Season 2, and Hannah is kicking things off with a massive case that shaped South London’s history—the tragic story of Damilola Taylor. But before we get into the heartbreak, we’re catching up on New Year’s resolutions, caravans in Devon, and the questionable merits of sharing shoe shopping tips with cab drivers.

Then, we dive deep into the case that shocked the nation: Damilola’s bright future, the devastating events of 27th November 2000, and the legacy his family created in his memory. It’s a tough one, but we’re here to honour his story and explore the lasting impact it has had on youth violence and systemic change in South London.

Sources used in this episode include:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11848488

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13231057/what-happened-damilola-taylor-ricky-danny-preddie-richard-taylor-dies.html 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Damilola_Taylor 

https://www.forensic-access.co.uk/cold-cases/damilola-taylor/ 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55059793 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4287383/damilola-taylor-how-old-death-schoolboy-stabbed/
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/may/18/youthjustice.politics1
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200203/ldlwa/21209wa1.pdf 

https://southwarknews.co.uk/area/peckham/explainer-who-was-damilola-taylor/ 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4791094.stm 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/dec/10/ukcrime.justice 

https://benkinsella.org.uk/knife-crime-increased-by-80-percent-in-last-10-years/#:~:text=Figures%20released%20by%20the%20Office,increase%20over%20the%20past%20decade. 

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/policeforceareadatatables 

Produced and hosted by Hannah Williams & Rachel Baines

Thanks for tuning in! If you loved diving into the dark corners of South London with us, don't forget to hit that subscribe button to never miss an episode of "Sinister South."

Also, follow us on Instagram @SinisterSouthPodcast for sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes content, and more cheeky banter, or www.sinistersouthpod.co.uk. Remember, every crime tells a story... and South is the best side of the river...

Produced and hosted by Hannah Williams & Rachel Baines
Mixed & edited by Purple Waves Sound (A.K.A Will)

Transcript

Damilola Taylor

Hello. Hi, I'm Rachel. And I'm Hannah.

And this is the Sinister South podcast, a podcast all about the nefarious ongoings in South London. And this, my lovely Travers, is season two. Hi, did you miss us? We missed you.

Yeah, I mean like full disclosure, this is still 2024 in our world. We were talking about, you know, New Year's resolutions and stuff. And we're saying, right, we're going to get ahead of ourselves.

We're going to make sure that Will's got loads of time to edit. Nothing's in a rush. We're not down to the wire.

So this is the first pre-New Year. Yeah. Attempt at a New Year's resolution.

Yes, it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's exactly it.

But yeah, so I'm hoping that everyone's had lovely Christmases and lovely New Year's and all of that. I'm sure you have. And if you haven't, it's just a day.

It's just a day. It's a new month. Exactly.

Let's go. It's all good. We've got this.

But yeah, and hopefully this isn't a thing of like, and they recorded from beyond the grave. This is literally why we're doing this, because I was like, I can't lie and say it's 2025. And Rachel was like, OK, yeah, I was like, no, I can't say I've had a nice Christmas.

She's like, all right. My dad died. It was 15 years ago.

But you say it. I laugh. And it just makes me sound like the most awful.

No, it was always my favorite thing is that. So my dad died on December 27th 2009. And the following year I was in a pub with a friend and I'm still a sucker for a paper diary.

Yeah. And she was looking through. I still had my two thousand.

I think I had an academic year one. Right. Oh, yeah.

I was still using September to September. Yeah. September to August or whatever it is.

I don't know. It doesn't really fucking matter. But she was looking through it and she'd got to looking through to December.

And she's written. Dad died in my diary as if it was like got nails done. Nail appointment, 715.

It was a dad died. Oh, no. And he makes me laugh every time I think about it.

What? As if I need to. I might forget just in case you forget. Oh, mate.

Oh, dear. So, yeah, I couldn't jinx life by pretending everything had been fine just in case it isn't. No, that's I think that's fair enough or tempting fate to make it not so.

Yeah. And I think to be fair, the Trevors are now well used to us and are slightly bonkers way of doing recording. Look, you get what you get.

You do get what you get with all the utmost love in the world. But yeah, so this is, as I say, first episode of season two. Nothing's really going to change.

You'll have some new cases. Everything else is going to stay the same. Yeah.

But we're just calling it season two because there was a nice two week break. I will probably have another two week break in the summer just because some of us news to me, Trev. Wouldn't be if you looked at the schedule.

Would it be if you didn't have a family? That is very true. It is entirely my fault. I'm going to go to Devon.

Oh, well, I do have to go to Devon. There's a caravan that must have me in it. But, yeah, so we are carrying on where we left off, really.

More death and destruction and horrendous cases from South London, which is it's fun. It's our bag. It's our jam.

It's so lovely. It's what we vibe down to. Oh, God.

How are you? How am I? I am all right, mate. I'm all right. Busy.

Life is busy. I kind of assumed that there would be some winding down. This is not the case.

If anything, people are winding up. Winding you up anyway. Very much winding me up.

Had one of the most redonkulous meetings of my life today, where I basically said that people needed to get with the programme or bad things would happen. But it's fine. It's fine.

I'm over it. I'm super chill. It's great.

Super chill gal. Super chill. Super chill.

The kids are all right. They're behaving themselves somewhat at the moment. I had a huge privilege today of being able to pick out what they wear to the Christmas disco tomorrow.

I know. They loved it. They loved it.

We had conversations about print clashing. We learnt about picking a colour and tonally theming. I love it.

We learnt that two dresses are far too small for the small one. Yes. Yes.

And we shoehorned her into them anyway just to check. Just to check. When she said, Auntie Hannah, my arms, my arms.

I took it off of that. I mean... Was that the pink one? Yeah. Oh, I was so sad about the pink one.

You have to have another one. You have to have another child. Oh, no.

I'm not that sad. But, yeah, Hannah brought the big one for her fourth? I think so. A pink... If anyone's seen Killing Eve, it's the child equivalent of the pink Villanelle dress.

It's just epic. So cool. And she wore it to have cocktails.

She did cocktails. Pop star martinis. And, yeah, she had pop star martinis and we had no seco and everything.

She had her hair done and we like... So we went shopping, we bought the dress, then we went and did. She had the best time. Went, came back home and then went for cocktails together.

She absolutely loved it. And that was the last time I did anything remotely productive or aren't like for them, other than just generally exist in their world. Just generally float in.

You had the day where you made cakes. Oh, yeah. And did unicorn bracelets.

So I've promised I've been talking about it for ages, so it actually is my nearest resolution that it is definitely 1000% going to happen. I've promised biggest the Harry Potter day. Nice.

So she's beside herself. Auntie Hannah has never seen a single Harry Potter film. I'm just going to put it out there.

This is what you will deal with. Auntie Hannah, did you know that that's Colin Creeby? And Colin Creeby has a camera and it is not a digital camera. It's a proper camera with a flash.

And then he does this, but he doesn't come back in any of the other episodes. And I'm not really sure why. Oh, and that's Draco Malfoy and Draco Malfoy does this.

And he's a horrible person. And then that is Mad Eye Moody. And he turns Draco into a ferret and so you will not need to watch the film.

You can just listen. I can absolutely disassociate. Yeah, you will need to.

Is all I'm saying. I was talking to biggest about said Harry Potter day. She's going to come to mind.

We're going to get the sofa bed out. We're going to get snacks. We're going to do it proper.

And I was like, do you reckon you can watch all the films in one go? Yeah, she was like, we might need to sleep a bit in the middle. And it's like, fair play, good, fair play. And then little one just looked at me and she went, I want to come.

I was like, yeah, you can come. It's no problem. I don't like Harry Potter.

OK, don't worry. You can take me to Dinosaur Museum. OK, fine.

It's because I did that for the wedding. I took big one for Harry Potter day around London and then I took little one to the Dinosaur Museum. I love that she's now gone.

Don't worry. I've got a contingency plan for this. We're going to go see the animatronic T-Rex.

It's fine. Oh, bless you. That would be very sweet.

So, yes. How are you? I'm good. I'm really good.

Good. I've got a really exciting weekend coming up. I'm going to see family in Eastbourne.

Are they going to let you in? Because the last time you mentioned Eastbourne on this podcast, you wanted to build a wall to keep them out. Oh, yeah. No, I wanted to build a wall around South London.

To stop the Eastbourne Nonians. Not just, not specifically them. Well, not specifically my family.

Who technically really, if you go by their parentage, are South Londoners. Oh, fine. All right.

Well, forgive them then. I think that's fair. So, that's fine.

It's true now. I've said it, so it must be. Oh, bless.

But, yes. One of the people I will see is the lovely Rosie, who is my cousin, who is an avid listener as well. So, how are you, Chick? Hi, Rosie.

I'll have seen you by the time you hear this. We are recording from the past. We are the ghosts of Christmas past.

And, yeah, you're probably all sick of the C word. There you go. But, yeah, so I've got that.

I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone, which is cool. Nice. I had a hilarious kind of, I was drifting off to sleep last night and got to wake up.

Oh, hi, I'm home. Hi. Listen, we've got a cab back, right? The driver and I was sitting behind, I was sitting behind him on the way back.

And he dropped off at Rachel's house, and then I was, I'm not going to sit behind you. And he went, I can't believe the chair foot. I'm six foot seven.

And I went, oh, oh, wow. What size feet have you got? Hannah, me and the driver had the same size feet. So he said, what do you do to buy shoes? Just go in and say your shoe size, and then hopefully just maybe see whatever they've got on the back.

And the driver said, yeah, that's what he does, too. Oh, I love the wholesome conversations. One of the coolest stories, bro.

Hey, at least his story isn't, she was just so loud. So our respective worst halves went out together on a little mandate. They had a little mandate.

Little mandate at some screaming metal music. Yes, because I went into mild panic at my to-do list. I can't.

I just got this sense of what's happening back and forth. And I was like, oh, she's stressing. And then you were like, I just and I've got to go out tomorrow night.

I was like, you don't. The world's got the tickets. I was like, Richard will go.

Why don't you go and ask Richard? It's done. He'll go. They had a lovely time.

They did. And Will did come home, though. The thing I found hilarious was that this morning, after he dropped the kids off at school, he came back and he was like, oh, I was like, you hang in.

And he was like, obviously, I went out with Hannah's boyfriend. No one is safe. It just made me laugh.

I was like, you do realize that it's just because you can't keep up. But he was like, I know. I don't know why I try.

Well, because as we speak, Richard's in the pub. It is. And he was drunk.

He had his drunk face on. Yeah. But he wasn't hammered.

And he was like, God, went to work fine this morning, everything. So he was been suffering all day. He's been suffering all day.

And then I said to him earlier when he was making dinner, he was whinging in the kitchen and I was like, hair in the dog, babe, there's beer in the fridge. And I was like, no, I don't think it's a good idea. And then the next thing I know is, OK, fine.

Fair enough. This is where we're going. But yeah, it was it was quite amusing because he was also like, he's got this thing that he does where he goes out.

And I don't know if I've mentioned it on the podcast, but I suffer from anxiety. I know brand new information that no one knew about me and no one could guess. But because of it, like, I don't need I'm not I used to be a lot worse.

I used to be really clingy. I used to be like, where are you? What are you doing? Who are you with? Why are you there? What's going on next? I have grown out of that when 2020 hit and he was there all the time here. Why aren't you with someone? Why can't you go? Why aren't you somewhere else? So we've kind of we've developed and grown as a couple.

So now I don't care. Like, if you're out, you're out. Like, go off.

Enjoy. But because he had a quite unfortunate incident when he went up to town a couple of years ago with his brother where he had his drink spiked and somehow managed to stumble his way home before passing out in the little estate near me and breaking his glasses and really badly hurting his face because he'd been spiked. His brother didn't turn out so well and was actually mugged.

And that was the whole point of them spiking them. So it wasn't fun. And it was horrific.

Terrific. So ever since then, I've been a little bit anxious about sort of like if he's out and it's late, I just need a message just to say, get in cab. Go into pub.

Go in pub. Or on my phone. Have him beer.

We'll get cab. Exactly. Don't need any more than that.

And we have this whole thing. And like every single time he goes out, he doesn't do it. And then every single next morning I go, how difficult would it have been to message me? And he goes, I know, I'm sorry.

I should have done it. And this morning, because I had called him passive aggressively, normally I don't call him, but yesterday I called him and was like, where are you? I'm at Brixton station. We're waiting for a cab.

So how difficult would it have been to message me? So I'm really sorry. I was like, I don't know why I'm surprised you do this all the time. Put the phone down.

I was like, that's it. He's had a piece of my mind. There we go.

I'm no longer doing the passag. What's happening? We're just going straight in. You've annoyed me.

And again, he put the phone down and kind of that was it. I didn't speak to him again until this morning when he apologized again profusely. But I just love the fact that you said.

Yeah. Well, no, I was like, no wonder Richard came home in such a good mood because I didn't fucking text him once like he's out. He'll turn up at some point.

It might be this evening, might be 12 days later. Who knows? But he'll work his way back eventually. The boy knows what side his bread's buttered.

Yeah. But he was he was in a really good mood when he came home and I was like, now it makes sense because now he'd have been like, I didn't get to trouble. We'll go to trouble.

I didn't get told off. I am a good boy. Oh, dear.

It's funny. I mean, to be fair, the only reason why I need to know where he is is because I don't like getting up in the morning. So someone's got to take the kids to school.

But anyway, I don't have all of that. All of that gaiety. You have a fucking massive case today.

It's a huge one. Yeah. I'm not going to lie.

I'm a bit nervous. It's I mean, I don't know what the right terminology I'm going for here is, but it's it's legend status. This case, it's fucking huge.

And I don't. I'm quietly confident that I have covered as much as is possible for two girls in a shed. Yeah.

Fair to do. And I've tried to be I don't know what I'm trying to caveat really other than I've done my best. Please don't be mean to me.

It's also a massive beast of a case. It's huge. And there's obviously only I mean, we could Twitter on for about four hours.

I don't. And there's so many different jumping off points for different topics of conversation within the case as well. That.

Some of it I might have intimated to or gone into a bit more. Gone into it in some detail, but it probably won't be all the detail that I could possibly have done. But I did have to consider, you know, word count that I vaguely know is around an hour.

We're one episode each. We haven't done a two four or three part or anything like that. And I think sometimes with these cases, you can get into the territory of it being hard to ever finish them.

So like a case like this could end up being a 24 part because where do you stop? Yeah, exactly. So, yeah, it's it's a big boy. As per usual, all the reference material will be in the show notes.

And I think there's the name alone. Yeah. Will be trigger warning enough for what is about to happen in this case.

Yeah, I agree. I think it's a buckle in lads. It's not a it's not a nice one.

On November the 27th, 2000, 10 year old Damalola Taylor left Peckham Library in South London, heading home on what should have been an ordinary afternoon. The tragic events that unfolded shortly after would shock the nation, leaving an indelible mark on British society and sparking a conversation about youth violence, community safety and justice. Damalola was a vibrant and ambitious young boy recently arrived in the UK from Nigeria with dreams of becoming a doctor.

His untimely death on the streets of Peckham inflicted by senseless violence for a community to its knees and captured the attention of the world. His story became a harrowing reminder of the fragility of life and the pressing need to address the system, the systemic issues that contributed to his death. In this episode, I'll try my best to examine the life of Damalola Taylor, the circumstances surrounding his tragic death, the investigation that followed and the lasting legacy he left behind.

It is a story of heartbreak, but also of resilience, as his family and supporters turned their grief into action, ensuring that Damalola's light would continue to shine in the efforts to build safer, more compassionate communities. Damalola Olufemi Taylor was born on the 7th of December 1989 in Lagos, Nigeria into a loving and close-knit family. The youngest of the Taylor's children, he was adored by his parents, Richard and Gloria Taylor.

Damalola lived with his siblings, older brother Tunde and older sister Bemi. In later interviews, Gloria described how Damalola's arrival in the world was unexpected. He was her late last baby, a fact reflected in her choice of name for him, which has the meaning gift from God.

Known for his infectious smile and boundless energy, Damalola was a bright, curious and compassionate child who exuded warmth. In August 2000, the Taylor family relocated to Peckham, seeking better medical treatment for Damalola's sister Bemi, who was suffering from severe epilepsy. Bemi was to be seen at King's College Hospital in Denmark Hill.

Richard stayed behind in Nigeria to help provide for his family. At the time, Peckham was undergoing significant transformation. The area, known for its cultural diversity and lively community, also faced persistent social and economic challenge.

High crime rates, particularly violent crime, plagued the neighbourhood with parts of the North Peckham estate amongst the most deprived residential areas in Western Europe. Efforts to address these issues were underway, with a 290 million regeneration programme aimed at revitalising the area. However, these improvements were still in their early stages, and many residents continued to grapple with unemployment, vandalism and social unrest.

Despite these challenges, Damalola quickly adapted to his new surroundings, standing out for his optimism and determination. He loved his new school, Oliver Goldsmith Primary, where he made friends easily and impressed his teachers with his enthusiasm for learning. Damalola's bright personality was described as bringing a sense of hope to those around him.

Damalola harboured big dreams. He often spoke of becoming a doctor to help others. He had a passion for football and spent hours playing with friends at the local youth centre or on the streets near his house.

His favourite team was Manu, and he dreamed of one day playing for them. Beyond his love of sports, Damalola had a creative side, enjoying art and writing. His teachers noted his remarkable potential, describing him as a child with a bright future ahead of him.

Damalola's life was filled with love, laughter and an irrepressible sense of hope. So, on 27 November 2000, Damalola Taylor spent the afternoon at Peckham Library, a place he often visited after school, to read and use the computers. At around 4.50pm, he began his short journey home, walking through the North Peckham Estate, a route he took every day.

The estate, like much of Peckham at the time, was marked by a labyrinth of walkways and alleyways and poorly lit areas, which were notorious for antisocial behaviour and crime. As he walked home, Damalola encountered a group of youths. Witnesses would later suggest that an argument or scuffle may have started.

Basically, during this, there was an assault where a shard of glass from a broken beer bottle cut Damalola in the thigh, severing his femoral artery. Fucking hell. Despite this catastrophic injury, Damalola, bleeding heavily, managed to break away.

He then ran approximately 100 yards into a nearby stairwell, calling for help and leaving behind a trail of blood. Collapsing in the stairwell, which was a mere 400 yards from his house, he was found moments later and emergency services were called. They arrived quickly, although I couldn't find an exact time, and immediately commenced life-saving measures.

And were able to transport Damalola to King's College Hospital. Tragically, Damalola was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. He had suffered extreme blood loss, resulting in hypovolemic shock.

Apologies if I've butchered that. I think, to be fair, mate, that was a fairly decent attempt at it. I've continued to make life hard for myself.

Hypovolemic shock, maybe. Who knows? Someone will tell me. Occurs when the body loses a significant amount of blood or other fluids, causing a severe drop in blood volume.

This leads to reduced oxygen and nutrient delivery to vital organs resulting in organ failure. Gloria Taylor was promptly informed of the horrific tragedy. She was the person nominated to identify the body of her young child.

Oh, that makes me go cold. Richard Taylor, who was still in Nigeria at the time of Damalola's death, immediately got on a flight to the UK to be with his family. Family liaison officers were assigned to the Taylors to provide sensitive communication and emotional support.

Their efforts were later praised for their thoroughness and humanity. Well, okay. That's one nice thing that's come out of this.

Shortly after Damalola was found, local officers had promptly arrived at the scene. Members of the Met's homicide assessment team soon followed, securing the area to preserve evidence and initiating the preliminary steps of a murder investigation. The investigation was swiftly escalated with the South London serious crime group taking over within hours.

Recognising the gravity of the case, senior officials, including a detective superintendent, were deployed to oversee the early stages of the inquiry. Oh, okay. The investigation required meticulous effort, particularly given the challenges posed by the North Peck mistake.

Its maze-like layout and poor lighting created a difficult environment for forensic and witness-based investigations. Yeah. From the stairwell where Damalola was found, investigators followed the trail of his blood that led them to what they believed to be the site of the assault.

Despite the adverse weather conditions, including rain, that was kind of whisked washing away critical evidence, forensic teams worked diligently to secure physical traces. It sounds like, and I mean, you might tell me that I'm wrong later on, but it sounds like the police might have done an alright job here. They're not fucking it up at the moment.

Yes. Okay. Well, yeah, anyway.

The most significant piece of evidence recovered was a broken beer bottle, identified as the weapon used to inflict the fatal injury. Advances in forensic science allowed investigators to examine the weapon for fingerprints and DNA, laying the groundwork for future breakthroughs in the case, which we will come to later. Oh, okay.

Police reviewed CCTV footage from cameras in the vicinity of the North Peck mistake, aiming to piece together Damolola's final movements and identify potential suspects. However, they were somewhat hampered by the limited coverage in certain areas. Efforts to gather testimonies from the community met with mixed success.

Officers conducted extensive door-to-door inquiries and appealed to the public for information. While some residents came forward with general observations about the area's crime patterns, few were able to provide direct accounts from the assault. Fear and mistrust of law enforcement deterred a lot of residents from cooperating.

I don't doubt it at all. Additionally, the estate's reputation for gang related violence contributed to a pervasive culture of silence. The search for Damolola's killers was relentless, driven by the urgency of justice and the heartbreak felt by his family and the community.

Despite the early challenges including the limited cooperation and gaps in forensic evidence, the police investigation began to focus on a group of young suspects. In the weeks following the attack, police received several anonymous tips implicating a group of local boys who were known to frequent the North Peck estate. The suspects, some of whom were as young as 12, had a reputation for antisocial behaviour and minor criminal activity.

These leads provided a starting point for investigators who began to piece together the events leading up to the attack. I did not know that they were that young. The police closely monitored the activities and movements of the suspected youths.

Among them were two brothers, Ricky and Danny Preedy, whose names repeatedly surfaced during these enquiries. Raised by their single mother in Peckham, the Preedy brothers became affiliated with the young Peckham boys, a street gang notorious for terrorising the North Peck estate. By November 2000, at the age of 12, Danny Preedy was awaiting prosecution for five offences, three of which were assaults.

Fucking hell! Notably, in June 2000 he had attacked a 13-year-old boy with a baseball bat during an attempted robbery. Oh my god! He was also part of a gang that robbed rail passengers, once threatening to cut a victim's face before stealing just £5. At just 13, Ricky Preedy faced charges including possession of a knife in September 1999.

As suspicions centred on the Preedy brothers and their associates, the police intensified their surveillance efforts. By monitoring their movements and activities, investigators gathered further evidence of their connections to the events surrounding Damalola's death. After months of meticulous investigation, the police felt confident enough in their evidence to formally charge Ricky and Danny Preedy amongst other youths in connection with Damalola's death.

However, rather than pursuing charges of murder, the Crown Prosecution Service opted to charge the suspects with manslaughter. This decision reflected both the complexities of the case and the challenges of proving intent. So, I told you I would.

And I have. For a murder charge to succeed, the prosecution would have needed to prove that the suspects acted with malice aforethought, a deliberate intention to kill or cause serious harm. In Damalola's case, the evidence did not definitively establish such intent.

While the use of a broken beer bottle as a weapon was undoubtedly reckless and undoubtedly dangerous, it was unclear whether the suspects had intended the catastrophic outcome. So I suppose when the other Preedy, the younger Preedy, had attacked somebody with a baseball bat, that's intent and it's premeditated, because you're taking it with you and that's something that you're going to do. And then I suppose that's when you can get really complicated with what if the other boy, the boy that got hit, if he had bought the bat to the fight and he got hit, is there intent, would the perpetrator have had the same intent because he didn't bring the weapon to the scene? Right, okay, but yeah, I suppose a broken bottle could be a weapon of convenience rather than, they've just found it, they've picked up, they've used it.

I'm going to carry on. No, don't apologise. The prosecution instead focused on the principle of unlawful act manslaughter, which held the suspects accountable for engaging in a dangerous and illegal act that unintentionally caused Damalola's death.

Although forensic evidence and the limited witness testimonies placed the preedy brothers near the scene, the exact sequence of events remained unclear. The CPS likely also considered the ages of the suspects. So Ricky and Danny at just 13 and 12 at the time were minors and their youth raised difficult questions about culpability and whether they could possibly have intent.

Oh, okay. So by pursuing manslaughter charges, the prosecution sought to hold them accountable for their actions whilst avoiding the risk of a complete acquittal that might result which might result from failing to provide, or failing to prove the higher threshold of murder. Yeah, okay.

So it's kind of like, yeah, the decision to charge the suspects with manslaughter was not without controversy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Some members of the public and media really heavily criticised it as being too lenient for such a devastating crime.

However, legal experts defended the approach emphasising that the manslaughter charges increased the likelihood of securing convictions, ensuring that Damalola's death would not go unpunished. Yeah, exactly. Oh.

Okay. Hmm. The bit that's got me making the funny noises that I'm going to hate when I listen back to is that idea of like, can you at the age of 12 or 13 have intent? And personally, I think so.

I would argue yes. But you only have to have a sympathetic jury. Oh yeah, 100% and I do kind of get... So I, reading so much about this, to write it, about the charge specifically, I must say I fall on the side of agreeing with it.

I think you are, again, much more likely to get a conviction. Yeah. You are appreciating the youth of the offenders.

And that's not to say you are being lenient on their youth, but you are understanding that a 12-year-old does not think the same as a 22-year-old, as a 32-year-old. Of course not. they'll... I agree with this.

I think I'm with you. I think the manslaughter makes sense. I think that there is a part of, with any case and with any sort of prosecution, you know, we've seen other cases where the CPS have turned down charges because they just go, we don't have enough to get a conviction.

It won't be successful. The whole point of this is to get convictions for cases when they're due. And I think that, you know, you're right, you just need a sympathetic jury and especially if it's a jury of peers, if there's people from the local area, again, I think that you would have a more lenient and compassionate view on children that essentially you recognise.

So I think that, yeah, to try and get someone to convict a 12-year-old of murder, I think is going to be a hard push to do it. So I don't disagree with the sentencing and the charging. Not the sentencing, the charging.

I don't disagree with it. But what I'm... What's kind of gnawing at my brain is that concept of at the age of 12 or 13, your brain isn't fully developed. You don't... There is some element of consequence that potentially you still don't understand, and I can see that.

However, you know the difference between right and wrong at the age of 12 and 13. You do. You just do.

You know if you're doing something that's risky. You know if you're doing something that's illegal. You know if you're doing something that's even if it just goes down to being unkind.

You know. Whether there was intent to I don't believe that there was intent to kill Damilola. That's it.

That's the conversation. Yeah, I don't believe that was. But I do think that it's interesting to... I don't think that you... Just because I don't think that there was intent to kill Damilola in this particular instance, I don't think that you can argue that their age means that there may not have been intent.

If that makes sense. So like I don't think in this particular case that we're talking about, there was the intent to kill Damilola. Okay.

However, you're not saying that no 12 year old would have intent. Exactly. I think that 12 year olds and 13 year olds are old enough to have that.

I don't think it's... I think you've theorised too far out. Because I'm sure if we dig into it there will be cases of people in that age bracket that have committed intentional murder. But I think there will be other contentious arguments around what drove or what created the scenario in which that 12 year old had the intent.

And I think it's trying to put this in trying to contextualise the life, the world that they were in as well. Like I'm not being sympathetic to them but I am being sympathetic to the situation. They were not held in a safe community.

They weren't being brought up in a safe unharmful environment. So at what point do we become the product of our surroundings? Of our lived experience and stuff. I get that.

We could be here for the next 20 million years talking about this. So in the end they were charged with manslaughter. So with charges formally filed, the stage was set for one of the most emotionally charged trials in recent British legal history.

And I think I wrote that sentence to punish myself for something. The prosecution would now face the daunting task of turning their carefully assembled case into justice for Damilola and his grieving family. I think it's important here to highlight that whilst the police were working diligently to get the case to trial, the overarching cultural reaction was astonishing.

The case of Damilola caught the public attention with such an intensity that it is unlikely that there was a person in the UK, or dare I say worldwide, who hadn't felt grief and sympathy for the Taylor family. I would hedge a guess that there's not a single person that wouldn't recognise his picture. It's infamous.

I remember it happening. We would have been 11. And it was the sense of complete shock and grief and just it was insane.

Residents of the North Peckham estate came together to honour Damilola's memory, holding vigils and laying flowers and messages of condolence at the stairwell where he had been found. These tributes reflected the shared heartbreak of a community grappling with the reality of rising youth violence. One heartfelt note left at the scene read, We will never forget your smile, Damilola.

Rest in peace, little angel. Messages similar to this from children and adults alike expressed sorrow, anger and a desire to see justice served. The media also played a significant role in amplifying Damilola's story.

National and international outlets reported extensively on his life and the circumstances of his death. His smiling school photograph became an iconic image. Public reaction was immediate and impassioned with calls for greater attention to the conditions in areas like Peckham where poverty, gang activity and systemic neglect often went unchecked.

The case also reignited debates about youth violence and the role of government in addressing these issues. Politicians, community leaders and activists used the tragedy to highlight the need for investment in education, social services and community policing. Richard and Gloria Taylor, despite their overwhelming grief, became vocal advocates for change.

In the aftermath of Damilola's tragic death, the Taylors channelled their profound grief into advocacy for systemic change. They emphasised the importance of creating opportunities for young people and addressing the root causes of violence. Their courage and determination garnered widespread admiration, inspiring many to support their mission.

In May 2001, the Taylors established the Damilola Taylor Trust in their son's memory, aiming to support underprivileged youth and campaign against knife crime. Gloria Taylor became an outspoken campaigner for underprivileged young people, stating that Damilola's memory should create hope, life and opportunity for Britain's downtrodden and underprivileged youth. Damilola's death became a turning point, galvanising efforts to address the systemic issues plaguing Peckham and similar areas.

Charitable initiatives, government programmes and grassroots efforts emerged aimed at improving the lives of young people and preventing further tragedies. So in January 2002, over a year after Damilola's tragic death, the case entered the courtroom at the Old Bailey in London. The trial of four youths, including the two brothers who were now aged 14 and 13, accused of Damilola's murder, was closely followed by the public and media alike.

It was one of the most high profile cases with the courtroom filled with reporters, legal experts and supporters of the Taylor family. The prosecution faced the daunting task of piecing together a case built on forensic evidence, circumstantial links and witness testimonies. Despite the gravity of the charges, the lack of direct eyewitness accounts and the inconsistencies in statements loomed large over the proceedings.

The Taylor family, ever composed, despite their immense grief, attended the trial daily. Gloria and Richard Taylor's visible strength became a focal point for public empathy and their fight for justice captured the nation's attention. Outside the courtroom, vigils continued and messages of support flooded in from around the world.

One of the prosecution's central witnesses, known under the pseudonym Bromley, claimed to have seen the suspects near Damilola at the time of the attack. I'll come to Bromley more, but yeah. However, the defence vigorously questioned the reliability of the testimony and the credibility of the evidence which had initially been pivotal to the case began to erode as the trial progressed.

Okay. The forensic evidence, whilst ground-breaking for the time, also faced scrutiny. DNA analysis from the broken beer bottle linked the suspects to the scene but fell short of proving direct involvement in the assault.

The defence argued that the presence of their DNA on the weapon could have resulted from unrelated activities in the area casting doubt on its significance. Throughout the trial, the courtroom bore witness to moments of profound emotion. The Taylor family's quiet dignity contrasted the tension of the legal arguments and the media frenzy outside.

The trial was marked by an underlying sense of frustration among supporters who feared that the evidence might not be enough to secure convictions. A cornerstone of the prosecution's case was this testimony from a very young witness who, because of her age, was anonymised as Bromley. Bromley had initially contacted the police anonymously, claiming to have critical information about the events surrounding Damalola's death.

Her testimony suggested that she had seen the group of youths, including the Preedy brothers, near the scene of the assault, potentially tying them to the crime. However, as the trial unfolded, Bromley's testimony began to falter under the weight of cross-examination. Discrepancies in her accounts became apparent and she admitted to being untruthful during certain parts of her statement, which caused significant damage to her credibility.

The defence highlighted these inconsistencies, arguing that Bromley's evidence could not be trusted and raising doubts about whether her claims had been influenced by external pressures. Ultimately, the trial judge ruled that Bromley's testimony was unreliable and could not be relied upon by the jury. This decision delivered a serious blow to the prosecution's case, removing what had been considered a crucial link between the suspects and the crime.

If you've got someone who's saying that they can put them there. Without Bromley's testimony, the prosecution was left to rely on forensic evidence and circumstantial links, which, while compelling, lacked the definitive clarity needed to secure convictions. On the 25th of April 2002, after three months of intense legal battles, the jury returned to their verdicts.

To the shock and devastation of the Taylor family and their supporters, all four defendants were acquitted. The acquittals underscored the challenges of securing convictions in cases reliant on circumstantial evidence and fragile testimony. God.

After months of anticipation and a trial that had captivated the public, the lack of convictions left a void in the quest for justice for Damolola. The courtroom's atmosphere was one of profound disappointment, with gas and murmurs breaking the silence as the verdicts were read. The verdicts also sparked widespread public outrage unsurprisingly, with many questioning how a case that had gripped the nation could result in absolutely no justice.

Richard Taylor expressed his heartbreak saying, the system has failed my son. Gloria Taylor, though obviously devastated, refused to let the verdicts mark the end of their pursuit for justice. Quote, we will not give up.

She declared, her voice resolute even through her grief. Media headlines questioned how a case so closely followed and investigated so meticulously could lead to no accountability. And the visuals just kept coming and they were held in beyond Peckham now that there was tons of communities kind of banding together to I don't want to use the word protest because it sounds too violent for to protest this lack of justice.

The thing though, and sorry to interrupt again, but the thing is that I can completely understand that kind of disappointment. I can completely understand that it's something so horrific that people need that sense of closure, I think. And when you don't get that, I can completely understand that.

But it's not like so if we think about other big cases where they've had similar levels of scrutiny, and I don't think that there's many that have had the same level, but similar ones. So the one that comes to mind straight away is Casey Anthony. And that woman killed her daughter, I'm sorry, not even allegedly, come for me.

But she was let off and again it's that thing around circumstantial evidence, like is it enough to say without a reasonable doubt that that definitely happened? It's not. But then on the flip side with the Casey Anthony case, it's like everyone's angry because it's fucking obvious why has she been let go? Like with this case, and I don't know where it's just from hindsight, it's 2020, but if they're not guilty, then justice has been done. And if there isn't enough evidence.

I mean if you really want to talk about the, fuck it, I'll say it, the miscarriage of justice, if the glove don't fit, you must have quit. No, yeah, exactly, exactly. But it's like but that's the thing with those cases, it's very much, the reason there's so much uproar is because it is a case of like this is, if I can see it, why can't you see it? But in this case, and again I don't know if maybe I would have felt the same at the time I was too young to have paid much attention to the trial if I'm honest.

But now listening to it back and with all of the that eyewitness testimony being thrown out and being seen as unreliable and then it is being based on circumstantial, it is being based on forensics that aren't 100% solid. Is it never also not the forensics we have today? No, exactly, but it's a bit like, is it a miss... if those boys were found to be guilty on that level of evidence and then that evidence was proven to be incorrect or unsubstantiated, there's a miscarriage of justice there. I'm not saying for a second that the tailors don't deserve closure, but is it to be that, it could just be that actually they weren't involved and there's this really weird kind of dichotomy between what is better, is it better to have... And how do you trust a how do you trust any justice system? Really? Because realistically just because 12 people say that you are or you aren't.

And those 12 people are me, they're you, they're you. We're not skilled in, we're not skilled psychologists, we're not, like, there's no we go on the fact that we're given. And that's the point.

You're given the information that you're allowed to receive. And for this, may the Lord make us truly grateful. It's fucking mad.

It's mad. It's so difficult because at the end of the day we are talking in this case about children. Across the board we're talking about children.

Yeah. I think that's what makes it so much more harrowing, I suppose. However, for the tailors, the acquittals actually became a galvanising force.

Within weeks, Richard and Gloria redoubled their efforts to create a lasting legacy for their son. The Damolola Tailor Trust intensified its campaigns for better support for underprivileged youth, anti-knife crime initiatives and community investment. Gloria Taylor's poignant message, Damolola's death must not be in vain, became a rallying cry for change.

The conclusion of the first trial was a devastating blow but it also served as a catalyst for further investigations. The police and CPS were determined not to let Damolola's case go unresolved. Behind the scenes, the Met and the Crown Prosecution Service faced mounting pressure to revisit the case.

Senior officials acknowledged the public's frustration and pledged to continue pursuing justice for Damolola. This renewed commitment coincided with advances in forensic science, offering fresh hope for breakthroughs. In 2004, new evidence began to emerge, prompting a review of the case.

DNA analysis had evolved significantly since the year 2000, providing investigators with tools that were previously unavailable. The possibility of extracting more precise forensic links from the crime scene re-energised the investigation, reigniting hope for justice. So yeah, basically by 2004 techniques that had been in their infancy during the original investigation were now capable of extracting and analysing evidence with unprecedented precision.

For the Met and the CPS, these advancements represented a critical opportunity to revisit all of the evidence from the crime scene. One of the most significant developments came from a re-examination of the broken beer bottle, the weapon used in the fatal assault. State-of-the-art DNA analysis revealed previously undetectable traces linking the Preedy brothers to the crime.

Crucially, this evidence established a clearer connection between the suspects and Damolola, filling gaps that had hindered the prosecution during the first trial. Investigators were also able to identify new fibres on Damolola's clothing which matched materials associated with the suspects. This discovery added another layer of evidence strengthening the case for a re-trial.

Combined, these findings created enough of a foundation for the CPS to pursue charges again, armed with stronger and a more robust case. The re-opening of the case reignited public interest and bolstered the Taylor's resolve. Gloria Taylor, in an interview at the time, remarked, This is a sign that we must never give up hope.

Justice for Damolola is still possible. In the years between the first trial in 2002 and the re-opening of the case in 2004, Ricky and Danny Preedy's lives did not veer away from patterns of criminal behaviour that had brought them under suspicion in the first place. Both brothers remained associated with antisocial activities, further solidifying their reputations as troubled youths with the Peckham community.

In December 2002, Ricky was prosecuted for throwing a bottle at another youth. By 2005, both brothers were in custody for unrelated offences when they were re-arrested in connection with Damolola Taylor's death. Danny had been sentenced to three years detention for conspiracy to commit robbery, whilst Ricky was serving a 12 month detention for driving while disqualified, assault and other offences.

Their behaviour during this period would later be cited as indicative of their lack of remorse and their failure to escape the cycle of violence that had shaped their adolescence. For the Taylor's family, this knowledge only strengthened their resolve. Gloria Taylor reflecting on this period noted in interviews, The years we waited were not idle ones.

We saw their actions. We felt the pain of knowing they continued to harm. But we never gave up.

So, nearly five years after Damolola Taylor's life was tragically cut short, the quest for justice reignited. Buoyed by all the advancements and the new evidence found from forensic developments, the CPS made the decision to retry the Preedy Brothers for the killing of Damolola. Announcing the retrial, the CPS emphasised their commitment to justice.

Gloria Taylor speaking to the press at the time expressed both relief and hope. We have waited so long for this moment. It is a reminder that justice delayed does not mean justice denied.

The retrial began at the Old Bailey in January 2006. This time the prosecution came prepared with a fortified case. Unlike the first trial, which had heavily relied on a flawed testimony of Bromley, the retrial focused on irrefutable forensic evidence and expert testimony.

Central to the prosecution's argument was the advanced DNA analysis, which conclusively tied the Preedy Brothers to the scene of the crime. Forensic experts explained the significance of the findings in painstaking detail ensuring the jury understood the weight of this evidence. The discovery of fibres from the suspect's clothing on Damolola's body further bolstered the case creating a web of connections that the defence struggled to unravel.

Throughout the trial, the courtroom was again charged with emotion. Richard and Gloria Taylor once again enduring the harrowing process sat steadfastly, their presence a testament to their unyielding pursuit for justice for their son. Public interest in the case remained incredibly high with media outlets closely covering each development.

The defence's strategy revolved around undermining the prosecution's evidence and highlighting the passage of time since the crime. They argue that the DNA evidence whilst compelling could not definitively prove the brother's intent or directly place them at the scene during the assault. The defence argued that Damolola's death was accidental.

A trauma expert for the defence testified that Damolola could well have fallen on the shard of glass causing the fatal injury rather than being deliberately attacked. Interesting. Yeah, and so this paragraph I've put in, it's not for me writing this.

What I kept thinking was what wasn't really reported on and I guess that's because of the perpetrator's commitment to their innocence. Yeah. Was a why? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Why were you arguing with him if you were? Why were you like if he did fall during a scuffle and it was unfortunate, why were you scuffling in the first place? That's what I felt I really couldn't grasp. But also why if he fell, wouldn't that have been part of their defence from the beginning? Exactly. Allegedly, whatever, it does smack of we've got better legal representation this time and we got lucky the first time.

So this is what I could find that was reported. I don't know the legitimacy of this particularly. But it had been previously suggested that in the days leading up to his death Damolola had been subjected to homophobic bullying and assaults by peers in the area and that this might have been another scenario where they were taunting and teasing and bullying him.

And I don't know the word homophobic comes into it once and is never seen again. However, the police didn't really consider it during their investigation and it really wasn't thoroughly explored in court either. I think with that as well what you consider homophobic and thinking back to the time when I'm not saying it's right but I'm thinking about the language and stuff that was in the vernacular of the time.

Calling someone gay was... Well I think we've said this before. It's horrific and I hate it that it was part of my life but we used to use gay as like, oh my god they're so gay. You say it all the time.

I remember my mum saying to me just say shit. Just say rubbish. Just say another negatively descriptive word.

Gay isn't a negatively descriptive word. But it was so ingrained in us. It was a term that was used regularly.

It was on TV, it was in pop culture and I'm not saying that it's right and looking back. It's horrible. But that's what I wonder with the term homophobic is like, was it homophobic or was it? Or is this the information that I could find being reported on through a much more recent lens? Exactly.

I don't know. Yeah, yeah, it's interesting. However, the strength of this new forensic evidence combined with the Priddy brothers troubled history and lack of credible alibis made their position increasingly tenuous.

On the 9th of August 2006, the jury delivered its verdict. Ricky and Danny Priddy were found guilty of manslaughter. For the Taylor family and the broader public, the verdict represented a bittersweet moment.

While it did not fully acknowledge the intentional nature of Damalola's death that some believe should have been recognised, it marked the first time his killers were held accountable. In her response to the verdict, Gloria Taylor stated, this is not the end of our pain, but it is a step towards peace. Justice has been done for our son and we pray it may bring hope to others who have suffered as we have.

Richard Taylor reflected on the years of anguish and perseverance, quote, we fought for Damalola and today his light shines brighter than ever, his memory will never be forgotten. On the 9th of October 2006, Mr Justice Goldring sentenced Ricky and Danny Priddy to eight years in youth custody for the manslaughter of Damalola Taylor. The sentencing marked a significant milestone in the case that had seen years of heartbreak setbacks and renewed hope.

However, the length of sentence sparked widespread debate reflecting the complex interplay between justice, accountability and the legal considerations surrounding juvenile offenders. So the sentencing took into account several factors. One, the age of the offenders.

The brothers were only 12 and 13 years old at the time of the crime. The justice system considers the age of offenders often resulting in more lenient sentences for juveniles. Two, a lack of premeditation.

The court found no evidence suggesting that the attack was premeditated. The absence of intent to kill typically leads to lesser charges in sentences. And three, the nature of the weapon.

The broken bottle using the assault was not brought to the scene but found there, indicating spontaneity rather than any pre-planning. Here's a question and it's one that you might not know the answer to. So tell me to be quiet.

This is what I don't get about the difference between premeditated murder and manslaughter or like because they say that a premeditated murder is any point where you have the decision to not do something. Not necessarily. But this is where I get confused.

My understanding of it was that even in a crime of passion I pick up a hammer and I decide I'm going to hit you with it and I hit you with it. That's premeditated because I've picked up a hammer. But the hammer was there.

You didn't bring the hammer to the fight. No, but I also, because I picked it up, there's some arguments that say that you had the decision not to. You decided to do that as premeditated.

This is what I don't get like into. I don't understand. From what I've read, that's not what I understand the definition to be.

Potentially it's, I'm getting confused between the UK and the US. I'm not saying you're wrong, sorry. No, no, no.

One, I don't know enough. Surprise, surprise. And two, I always thought it was how you come to the fight.

So if you come to the fight with the hammer you intended to use that hammer. Like the people that go to nightclubs with knives in their jeans. Even if you didn't think I'm going to go and stab someone, you had that weapon with you to be able to stab someone if you felt the need in that moment.

Whereas if you are grappling and you pick up a knife because you're in the kitchen grappling you could have just as easily picked up a teacup. You could have just as easily picked up a spoon. Yeah, fair, fair, fair.

Like it's that yes you are making a decision but how intentional can that decision be when you factor in the scenario that you're in. So I think that's where the difference is like if you're in the throes of a domestic violence argument and Will is trying to walk away from you and it is evidence and fact that he was trying to exit the scene and actually you had a clear ten seconds where you then picked up the hammer. Yeah, yeah, yeah, fair.

That is very different to him having his hands around your throat and you grabbing a hammer. Okay, so note to self. Keep hammers in kitchen.

If he turns his back, it's a no. And it is note. If anything is to happen to me in a suspicious circumstance, I would like this episode to be entered into evidence.

I'll get into serious trouble for this. Yeah, okay, that's how I understand it. But I think I'm happy to be educated if I'm wrong.

I think that that makes sense. And that's always been how I've seen it. It's like you can have a crime of passion and the whole point of a crime of passion is that you're in a heightened state and you do something and it's not intended.

That's the point. But I've got this and I could have dreamt it and made it up. But I've just got this memory of like, and it probably is in America from all the bloody case file and dateline that I listen to.

But I've had it before where they're like, no, they made that decision to go through with this. But maybe it is, as you're saying, maybe it is when it's like someone's turned away and you've decided to go for it. Maybe that's the new one.

I always, in my brain, whenever I think about this or I'm talking about this or whatever, I always think of The Simpsons. And I think, I don't know, I actually can't remember if it's Bart or Lisa, but one of them says, I'm standing here kicking and punching. Just, if you walk into this, that's not my fault.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. If someone's near you and you've been like... Yeah, fair, fair, fair. I like that.

That makes a lot of sense in my head now, thank you. Oh, dear. And it's probably the only scene of The Simpsons I've ever seen, apart from don't chase me, I'm full of chocolate.

My favourite one, sorry, to bring it off that you've spoken about The Simpsons, is there's an episode where Mayor Quimby redirects all of the planes over The Simpsons house because he's getting disturbed when he's having his intimate relations in the motels. So it gets rerouted over The Simpsons house and as the first one goes over, everything vibrates and Marge Simpson just stands and goes, no! Not the swear jar, that's the only thing keeping in the filth! And then the jar breaks and then she goes, oh, nutty fudgekins. And I absolutely love it.

So, there we go. Sorry, back to the destruction and terror. Yeah.

So while the sentence brought a measure of accountability, it also reignited debates about how society should handle young offenders involved in such serious crime. Critics argued that the eight year term failed to reflect the gravity of Damolola's death, potentially undermining public confidence in the justice system, as we have just demonstrated quite beautifully. Others defended the decision, pointing to the need for a justice system that considers the potential for rehabilitation, particularly for offenders as young as the pre-D brothers at the time of the crime.

The sentence also underscored the importance of continued efforts to reform the conditions that contribute to youth violence. A notable response came from then Home Secretary John Reid, who expressed sympathy for the Taylor family and acknowledged the public's frustration. This case reminds us that the justice system must strive to do more for victims while addressing the roots of youth violence.

Yeah, he'd stated that during a press briefing. Experts in youth justice noted that cases like Damolola's underscored the importance of early intervention and community support. Dr Caroline Willow, a leading advocate for children's rights, reflected these boys were products of a system that failed them long before they committed this crime.

Rehabilitation must focus not just on punishment, but on addressing the circumstances that create such offenders. Despite the sentencing marking the end of a harrowing legal battle, it was not the end of Richton Gloria Taylor's journey. Turning their grief into purpose, they intensified their efforts even more so to ensure that Damolola's memory would inspire change.

The Damolola Taylor Trust became the cornerstone of their advocacy, focusing on youth development, anti-knife crime initiatives and community building. In the wake of the sentencing, the Taylor's launched campaigns targeting systemic issues that led to youth violence and led to poverty. Gloria Taylor, in an impassioned interview, emphasised the need for prevention over punishment.

If we don't address the conditions that lead children into these paths of violence, then Damolola's death will have taught us nothing. Richard, speaking years later, remarked, justice isn't just about punishment, it's about change. We want Damolola's legacy to be a call to action for building a better, safer world for our children.

Their advocacy work gained national attention with high profile partnerships and support from politicians, educators and community leaders. The Trust's programmes aimed to provide young people with opportunities to thrive, from mentorship and education initiatives to sports and creative arts programmes embodying the hope and ambition that Damolola had exemplified. Damolola's case became a watershed moment for addressing youth violence in the UK.

Public outcry over his death and the circumstances surrounding it pushed policy makers to introduce reforms aimed at tackling the root causes of such tragedies. One of the most notable responses was the introduction of anti-knife crime initiatives including school outreach programmes and campaigns to raise awareness for the consequences of carrying weapons. Efforts like the It Doesn't Have to Happen campaign launched in 2008 directly targeted young people emphasising the personal and societal costs of knife crime.

Additionally, the case highlighted systemic failures in community safety and community policing. It spurred discussions about improving living conditions in areas like Peckham's North Peckham estate emphasising the need for better housing, youth centres and employment opportunities to break the cycle of deprivation and crime. So as I mentioned briefly earlier, the Damolola Taylor Trust garnered support from lots of high profile individuals and organisations.

These included Rio Ferdinand, the former England footballer, has been actively involved with the trust. His own organisation, the Rio Ferdinand Foundation, is part of The Hope Collective, a partnership that includes the Damolola Taylor Trust aimed at highlighting positive contributions of young people. Reflecting on his involvement, Rio is quoted as saying I love Rio Ferdinand.

So John Boyega, the Star Wars actor, and Leona Lewis, the singer, who was associated with the Spirit of London Awards, the initiative which was created by the Damolola Taylor Trust. Was it? I did not know that. Corporate supporters of the Trust include Shell PLC, the Co-op Community Fund, BBC Children in Need and the Worshipful Company of Weavers, amongst others.

So the Damolola Taylor Trust's mission is to honour Damolola's memory and it has been realised through the transformative impact it has had on individuals and communities. I've now included quotes and stories from those that have been directly touched by the Trust's work, each a testament to the enduring legacy of Damolola's life. So, quote The mentorship I received not only kept me focused but also gave me the confidence to pursue my dream of becoming a graphic designer.

Today I work at a leading design firm and I credit this journey to the Trust for giving me that initial push. So that's Damol, a programme participant. Quote The Spirit of London Awards changed my life.

I was nominated for my work in my local community and when I won I felt seen for the first time. Coming from an area with a lot of crime I used to think that no one cared about young people like me. The Trust proved me wrong.

I now volunteer to help others in my community realise their potential. Sophie, who's a Spirit of London Award recipient. So, for Richard Taylor every success story is a testament to his son's enduring legacy.

Quote When I hear of a young person who's gone from feeling hopeless to achieving their dreams because of the Trust I feel Damolola's light shining brighter. That's what this is all about turning pain into purpose. Gloria Taylor frequently spoke of the Trust's power to bring communities together.

Quote The work we do isn't just for Damolola it is for every young person who feels they've been forgotten. When we see them succeed we see part of Damolola's dream fulfilled. Despite the efforts of countless individuals, organisations and government bodies knife crime and youth violence persist as pressing issues in the UK.

Statistics from recent years underscore the gravity of the situation. In England and Wales 50,973 knife-enabled crimes were recorded by the police in the year ending June 2024 which is a four percent increase from the previous year. Tragically young people remain disproportionately affected both as victims and perpetrators with knife crime being the leading cause of death amongst teenagers in London.

In the year ending June 2024 225 murders involved a knife or a sharp instrument in England and Wales. Regional knife crime data for the same period showed an increase in recorded offences involving a knife or sharp instrument across many forces across the country. Including London which was up by 16 percent.

Statistical data shows that in the last 10 years knife crime in England and Wales has increased by 80 percent. Oh my god. Oh my god that's harrowing.

That's the bit that when I wrote it I couldn't stop crying and I kept trying to read it back to myself to make sure it made sense and I was like 50,000. That's just insane. It's basically 51,000 50,973 knife-enabled crimes in a year.

And this is interesting isn't it? A little bit because it kind of comes back to in the Christmas episode when we talk about shooting and we talk about guns and guns are very much an American problem. Oh knife crime. Knife crime is in English but like a UK problem.

Knives are 1000 percent. I'd say knife crime is a London problem. Yeah agreed.

It's unimaginably awful. The persistence of youth violence is rooted in a complex web of social, economic and cultural factors. Areas with higher rates of poverty and social deprivation often see young people drawn into gang culture which promises belonging and protection but often delivers cycles of violence and despair.

Systemic neglect manifested in underfunded schools, limited access to youth services and lack of safe community spaces further exasperates these vulnerabilities. For many young people the presence of a knife represents not aggression but survival in an environment where trust in authorities is eroded and the fear of violence looms large. Amid these challenges Damilola Taylor's story remains a powerful symbol of what is at stake.

His death was not merely a tragedy for his family but a moment of reckoning for a nation. 25 years later his name continues to evoke discussions about the systemic failures that allow such violence to persist. For many, Damilola is a reminder of the potential lost when a society fails to nurture and protect its youth.

Gloria Taylor, Damilola's mother passed away in April 2008 after suffering a sudden heart attack at the age of 57. Her death came as a devastating blow to those who admired her timeless advocacy for underprivileged youth and her dedication to preserving her son's legacy. Her work was characterised by resilience but it was clear that the loss of her son weighed heavily on her health.

In her final years she continued to attend events give speeches and push for initiatives aimed at breaking cycles of violence stating Damilola's death must bring hope and change for Britain's forgotten youth that is the only way we can heal. And we cannot change the past but we can change the future and that is what Damilola's story is about. Richard Taylor passed away in late October 2023 at the age of 76.

His death followed decades of quiet resilience and commitment to continuing Gloria's and Damilola's legacies. Richard remained an active voice in the fight against knife crime long after Gloria's death, often speaking at events and the supporting initiatives spearheaded by the Damilola Taylor Trust. Richard was known for his composed demeanor even in the face of profound grief and injustice.

He frequently spoke about the importance of forgiveness once remarking Hate will not bring my son back but we must work for change for understanding and for hope. Oh mate. Thank you.

You're welcome. Thank you for putting up with me stumbling over my words every ten seconds. You're fine, you're fine.

It's such a... I think you're right. It's such a pivotal case in UK history. I think not even just in London history.

I think those of us who were around when it happened, especially those of us who, you know, Damilola was born in the same year as us. There was something... It was a moment in time that I don't think people will forget in a hurry even though it's been 25 years. I know.

Which is madness to think it's been 25 years. What I found quite interesting listening to it because I knew a lot about the actual event that happened and, you know, where he was found and all of that and you'll write that picture with his smiling face is going to go down in history. It's an iconic image.

It really is. And I think... But I didn't know a huge amount about the cases. I didn't kind of understand about the sentencing and sort of how it kind of gripped the nation.

What I did find interesting was the fact that in my head it wasn't a broken bottle, it was a knife. It's very reminiscent of Jimmy Misen. And the fact that again, that could be considered an accidental death.

It was unfortunate... Yes, he threw something, but it was unfortunate that it shattered. It could be seen as a very similar incident, really, by the sounds of it. But it just... The thing that... about both of those cases that gets me every time is just how those parents take what is such a tragic incident and turn it into something that is so overwhelmingly positive and so overwhelmingly good.

And I don't know that I personally would ever have the strength to be able to take the senselessness of... and the heartbreak of losing a child and turn it into something that is so positive for other people. And it's incredible. And I think that, you know, that's the other thing we have to remember in these cases.

Yes, they're infamous, yes, they're horrific, but there is hope. There is something there. There are people working to try and change it.

And the numbers that you quoted at the end are fucking sombering. They're somber numbers and they're sobering. Not sombering.

Sombering's not a word. But it's it's also that thing around but what has been done to help improve the lives of those young people outside of things like the Damalola Trust, outside of things like the the Jimmy Mism Foundation. What are government doing? What are the police doing? I'm not saying that they're not doing things.

I just don't know what they're doing. How do you break? And I think what came from like the word that kept coming out of all of the research I was doing and everything I read was was it's a cycle? But how do you break that cycle? How do you break that like disenfranchised how do you stop these factors that create these environments and kind of break the cycle? It's evident and I didn't put it into the main bit I'm going to say it now which I know is something my mum hates when we do on this podcast. Apologies.

I didn't put it in because at the time when I finished writing or when I was getting close to finishing writing it I was really angry and I just thought fuck them I don't want to know what the Preedy brothers did next. But I thought hang on isn't that the exact attitude would cause the cycle of kind of giving up and discounting people. However, I say that.

Ricky Preedy was released on parole in 2010. He was recalled to prison in March 2011 for violating parole conditions. He was released again in January 2012 but was re-incarcerated 16 days later for another breach.

In 2020, Ricky was sentenced to 4 years in prison after reversing a car into a police officer in Wembley, North West London causing her serious neck and leg injuries. In March of 2024, he led police on a high-speed moped chase in Chiswick, West London, reaching speeds of 50mph and 20mph zones and running red lights. The pursuit ended when he crushed the moped and jumped into a river to evade arrest.

Despite his previous convictions, a judge spared him jail time emphasising the importance of him taking responsibility for his 5-year-old son. Hang on. Danny Preedy So since his release, Danny has maintained a lower profile compared to his brother and there are no widely reported incidents of legal issues or anything in his life post-release.

Was he the younger one? God. What a question. So Danny was 12.

Yeah, so he was the younger one. I wonder if there is something there about it being he was in the situation because he was there with his brother and then actually, as he's got an older and that influence isn't there, is there something else? It's so difficult, isn't it? Because there is a part of me that is like they knew what right and wrong was. They knew that they shouldn't be picking up and using thrusting motions with a broken bottle.

Whether you intended to hurt someone or not, you know that doing that is going to hurt someone. Then there's the flip side of but they're 12 and 13 and do they fully understand consequence? I think this is kind of a good example of both thought processes being correct or being flawed in that one of them, by all intents and purposes, and I don't know any pretty person, but went to prison, served as time, came out, was kept low profile. Which would argue that the leniency and the focus on rehabilitation worked.

Or you've got Vicki. I also feel like, and it's something that I don't think gets referenced a lot, and to be fair, rightly so, because the onus should be on Damalola and it should be on his family but I just think about the pre-D brothers mum and she's a single woman, doing it on her own, trying to raise two kids in a in a depravated area that is low socio-economic it's low opportunity. You try your best for your kids and I don't... But you can't you can't battle a chronically underfunded environment.

You could be the best parent in the world and you can't fight the difference between have and don't have and want and don't and can't get. I think if we speak, we've always been very open and you can cut this out if you don't want it in here. We have tried to do an episode on gang crime in South London and the nuance that you have to come at it with can fall so short of the mark of what you're actually trying to say that we scrapped the episode because we couldn't... At one point we were sounding too sympathetic to perpetrators of crime because we were incredibly sympathetic to the situations that they were brought up in and were trying to fight against or we flip-flopped to complete anger which is a human response to crime complete anger and disengagement from the fact that they were human beings.

I'm not saying that there aren't... I'm not saying that having that anger isn't right or that there's only merit in being a sympathetic person and understanding that people... It's just so difficult to unravel something so intrinsically linked in so many other things that you start to kind of... It's a bit like... For me and I don't know if you... For me it's a bit like when you start to think I'm on a road with this many houses but there are 12 roads like this in however many miles around me then there's that, then it goes bigger then it concentric circles out and out until you think and then I'm in a town and then I'm in a country and then the country's in the world and then the world is a planet and then the planet is in the solar system and then there's a universe and then there's a Milky Way and the existential crisis just becomes... I am a speck of dust! And I can't do that. We've already spoken about the fact that I am the centre of my own universe or just too deep and the universe is too big. Too big.

But no you're right it is and you can tie yourself up in knots and I think that when I listen back to this episode I'm going to find myself. I can... I know that I've gone from oh but they know it's right and they know it's wrong and then to oh but if they didn't do it they should be fine but then oh but we've got to like... But why? And there's no... I will listen back and there was one point whether it makes it to the final cut or not who knows I was quite dismissive of you and it wasn't a shut up rage it was a we've tried to walk down this path before and neither of us knows how to get out of it. Yeah it's true.

I just think it's... So shut up rage. I think it is just... yeah it's so complicated and it's so tie yourself in knots and it's... I think we both sit here as people that would like to think that we would have compassion for any child in a scenario in which that child found themselves and we would like to think we are the people that would look around at the society that was encasing those young people and blame them and blame the infrastructure and blame the gravity of their scenarios rather than them until you put yourself in the shoes of Richard and Gloria Taylor. And I don't ever want to be in those shoes.

Of course you don't. That's easy for me to say I am not a mother. Yeah.

But I couldn't promise that level of dignity and sympathy and empathy. Oh I know damn well. I know damn well that all of my ideals would go out the fucking window.

I mean all of them. And then because then how far does that stretch? Like I famously outed myself as being fine with the death penalty before which I have since learnt and taken back. But actually you're right.

You're right. It's just... and this is the issue of doing a podcast where we are looking at things through a certain lens and a lot of this stuff is in a fishbowl. And a lot of it is... We're also two people that are incredibly similar.

Yes. Upbringing, similar every kind of any segmentation of us. We are very similar.

And I think again, harping back to the time we tried to do an episode about gangs, I think both of our opinions would be very different. Or both of our thought processes would be very different depending on who was sat in the room with us. A hundred percent.

And hey, never say never, I would find it incredibly fascinating to have conversations about these things with people far more knowledgeable than us on every side of every fence. Yeah, no agreed. I think it's just... But we can't commit to making a real every week.

We can't. So I don't know how we'll commit to having conversations of multiple people. But no, I think that whatever way you cut it it's a fucking horrific harrowing case.

And you did an incredibly good job of telling it. Thanks babe. I hope so.

No, you did. And I think that you came at it with the right level of compassion and understanding and also humanity at just being able to go, this is fucking awful. I think one thing that potentially I could be picked up on is I intentionally tried to use language that wasn't insightful.

Yeah. So I don't think there was multiple uses of the word murder. No, no, no.

Or assault. I think I used assault a few times but not as much as it might be peppered through media that you might read about the case. I tried to be intentionally quite... What's the word? Not articulate, eh? Paired back.

There's a better word. Understated. There we go.

With the language that I did use so that it didn't... But again, I don't want that to seem that I'm sat here going like it wasn't a fucking horror story. I don't think that, well, personally from sitting here and listening to it, I don't think that that is how it came across. I think, you know, again, it's a fucking... It's an absolute minefield of things.

You're gonna... There's always gonna be someone that will have a different opinion and I think that's fine and it's worth having a debate about that but I think... You say that now but when I try and fight the listeners you won't let me. No. All of that is to say you did a bloody good job on a really tough case so thank you.

And thank you for kicking off season two. Next week we'll have a little bit more of a light hearted one. I'm talking about some slavery.

So, yeah. I hope you're all ready for that. But yeah, so we will be back next Wednesday as per yuge with the normal normal service resumes.

We're back. We are going to be launching our Patreon this year. We're still ironing out the last little bits.

Basically I'm working on some things that might go on a pin or a badge of some sort. She really wants you guys to have badges. I do want you to have badges and they'll be very, very cool.

So I'm working on those and then we will launch that. We've still got the website still being updated. There is now a second section that is called cases season two.

So you can go and have a look at some sneak peeks of some of the other episodes that we've got planned on there. We've got the Instagram still going from strength to strength. And as it's a new year, I'm also going to say we have the Facebook group that was not set up by us.

It's an actual thing and it's not a dumpster fire yet. No, it's nice. And highlights include me posting once which was to announce, Trevor's, I've made the decision to not officially join the group until I need to wade in and end a drama slash travesty slash conflict slash a bitch.

I love it. I love it. So yeah, there is a Facebook group so you can go and join it.

It's called Sinister South slash Trevor's Unite. Yay! And the people who are there are only there for nefarious purposes. Always.

So yeah, go and join there and have a chitchat and have a discussion about stuff and things. Go gentle on the lovely Lou who set it up. Oh, bless her.

Because she may well be the only admin at the moment. Yeah, and she also admitted that she set it up after she'd listened to an episode where I was lamenting about not having it yet and being very disappointed when she'd had a few to drink. So, lovely, lovely Lou.

We love you. We love you very much for this. You get twelve million Trevor points.

That's a lot of badges for Rachel to make. Queen of the Trevor's. That is quite the title.

Well, I think that, you know, making... We really wanted the Facebook group. Making our Facebook group. And if it could, like, give us like six months of fun and then if it could just descend into chaos, I'd fucking revel in it.

That would be wonderful. But, yeah, so we've got the Facebook group. We've got the Instagram.

The TikTok is still there holding on by a thread. Good luck, TikTok. And we've still got the email address if you'd like to leave us some lovely little emails.

That would be awesome. And, yeah, also any other case requests that you've got? Is there anything that you want us to talk about? It could be historical. It could be something a bit different.

Maybe you know of some fun heisty type cases that I've not been able to find. Victimless crimes. Victimless crimes would be lovely.

Otherwise, the usual death and destruction is fine. Send them our way. And I think the only thing left to say, mate, after this bumper episode, I've got to go home and fake down now.

Well, that. And also, thank you again. And, Trevors, we love you.

We do love you very much. Happy New Year. Happy New Year.

And, buh-bye. See you next week. Bye.