A 15-year-old was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the murder of a father of three who was stabbed to death on his front porch after confronting a gang who verbally insulted his daughter.
The killer, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was “out of control” when he murdered 45-year-old stonemason Jamie Markham after days of ranting and cursing outside the victim’s Chingford house.
He had been caught with a knife at school when he was 12 years old, and Mr. Markham assumed that the child, then 14 years old, and his pals had broken into the shed behind his Old Church Road apartment, where he stored his tools.
On August 9, 2012, the child and four of his pals were blowing off fireworks in front of Mr. Markham’s house, despite the fact that he had been barred from the neighborhood by the courts.
Mr. Markham died in August of last year after being stabbed in the back, armpit, and chest for confronting the child, who had been prohibited from the area by a criminal behaviour order he had disregarded previously.
The adolescent provoked Mr. Markham to intervene by warning a bystander, “He’s going to get it.” When he opens his mouth, he is a c***.’
Mr. Markham lost his temper and emerged from his backyard shed with a huge drill bit.
The stonemason, who was just 5ft 5′ tall and weighed eight stone, was observed brandishing it above the head of the 5ft 11′-tall, 5st 5′-tall adolescent, who then drew an 18′ knife.
Three times he stabbed Mr. Markham as they fought “like gladiators.”
Mr. Markham was assisted back to his apartment by a neighbor, but he later died after collapsing.
Jamie Markham (center), 45 years old, was stabbed to death in Chingford, east London. He is photographed with his wife Candice (right) and daughter Chloe, who is 17 years old (left)
His murderer was well-known for destroying the local Morrisons branch by throwing red wine and eggs down the aisles.
He was seen on tape spitting in his mother’s face and violated a criminal behaviour order by being in the vicinity where he murdered Mr. Markham five times.
Since June 2020, when he was 13, he has appeared in court 12 times and been convicted of 22 separate offenses.
His prior convictions include assault, criminal damage, the use of threatening and abusive language and conduct, the transmission of threatening texts, and theft.
The prosecutor referred to it as “a sad history.”
Photographs of police at the scene in Chingford following the August 2014 event
The boy claimed he was acting in self-defense when he was found guilty of murder and possession of a blade or point in July of this year.
Today, Judge John Hillen informed him, “Jamie Markham was 45 years old and had three children. He was a self-employed stonemason who worked tirelessly to provide for and raise his family.
You were variously characterised by the prosecution as a juvenile troublemaker, not someone who was willing to take orders from others, and an annoying kid.
These were harsh phrases to employ with a teenager whose brain had not fully matured or developed.
‘However, given your past and what transpired on August 9 of last year, it’s easy to see why law-abiding adults might view you as an unpleasant adolescent and a troublemaker,’ the speaker said.
He said, “Your pathological fascination with knives, aggressive behavior, and violence against people who opposed you all converged on Chingford Mount on August 9, 2012.”
The judge stated that the adolescent brought a knife to school, concealed a weapon in his bed’s headboard, posted photographs of blades on social media, and conducted internet searches for purchasing knives.
You were frequently absent. You had a poor rate of school attendance. Your foster parents were unable to prevent your inappropriate behavior. You had lost control.
On August 9 of last year, an unhealthy fascination in knives and violence towards those who challenged you converged on Chingford Mount.
He said, “No sentence I inflict can bring Jamie Markham back to life.”
He was irreplaceable as a son, a brother, and an uncle. His mother, his sister, and his nieces’ lives have been ruined by your crime.
East London police tent at the spot where Mr. Markham was tragically stabbed in Chingford
His spouse and his three children are sentenced to a lifetime of anguish and sorrow.
You ended his life. You have yours. But your life will now be subject to the sentence I am about to impose.’
Judge Hillen condemned him to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 15 years at His Majesty’s Pleasure.
The adolescent wore a grey utility jacket and displayed no emotion as he was condemned, as members of Mr. Markham’s family grieved silently in the court’s well.
The court heard from several members of Mr. Markham’s family regarding the impact of his death.
Anita Markham, the mother of the victim, addressed the perpetrator directly: ‘On August 9, 2021, you stabbed my son Jamie Markham three times.
‘You had nothing to say. Not even “I’m sorry, I didn’t intend for it to occur.”
You cannot claim it was an accident because he was stabbed three times.
“Taking my son’s life has shattered me.
“I have not been able to sleep, waking up between 1:30 and 2:00 am because Jamie is constantly on my mind.
‘Seeing him lying there, knowing I couldn’t heal him like when he was a child, and desperately wanting to save him and bring him back to us, broke my heart.
“You have appropriated a portion of me for your own selfish purposes. Not only my family, but also Jamie’s friends, my friends, and the community have been affected by your evil act of murdering him.
“Jamie’s birthday occurred on the first day of the trial. The amazing day he was born.
My son has no future because you, a particularly evil person, have taken it away from him.
Mister Markham’s sister, Lisa Sawyer, expressed disbelief.
She said, “I didn’t imagine things like this happened to regular people like us.”
Amber Markham, the daughter of Ms. Sawyer and the niece of Jamie Markham, commented on the jury’s guilty judgment in her statement.
I cannot imagine how my mother and I would have gotten my grandmother through it had the jury reached the opposite conclusion.
According to her, there was only one correct conclusion, and happily the jury agreed.
The court heard that Mr. Markham and his family had become “increasingly frustrated” with adolescents “causing a nuisance” near their residence.
On the night he died, the stonemason arrived home from work at approximately 6 p.m. and walked to the parking lot behind the local shops to unwind by smoking marijuana.
A dispute broke out between the then-14-year-old father of three and one of his pals.
When his daughter peeked over the balcony at the defendant and his companion, one of them yelled, “What the f*** are you staring at?”
She heard the two youngsters continue to “shout and swear,” and a witness named Stuart Cole observed them “goading” Mr. Markham and waiting for him to exit the parking lot and enter the roadway.
The murderer told Mr. Cole, ‘It’s okay, mate. He will obtain it. When he opens his mouth, he is a c***.’
Earlier in the trial, prosecutor Crispin Aylett, QC, told the jury, “Jamie Markham must have been provoked beyond endurance to the point where he wished to chase this disrespectful teenager away from the area where he and his family resided and make sure he did not return.”
Mr. Markham retrieved the drill bit from his shed and confronted the adolescent with it.
The child drew his weapon, which was characterized as “an extremely sharp kebab knife.”
Mr. Cole cried, “Enough!” but observed the adolescent stab Mr. Markham in the neck and beneath his left arm.
A doctor then discovered a fatal third wound on the left side of the elderly man’s back.
The youngster dropped his phone as he fled the scene, and because it was being paid for by his mother, it led authorities directly to him.
In his closing statement, Mr. Aylett told the jury, “He provoked trouble, and he caused it with the knowledge that he had the larger and more powerful weapon.”
Mr. Markham attempted to return fire with fire by arming himself with something.
He stated that the youngster has a history of disrespect for authority and his elders.
A video showing the kid spitting at his adoptive mother was also displayed to the jury.
In January 2021, he was issued a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) prohibiting his presence in Chingford Mount unless accompanied by an adult, but he violated the order six times.
On August 20, he was scheduled to be sentenced for the violations, but he had already murdered Mr. Markham.
The youngster did not testify, but his attorneys argued that stabbing Mr. Markham was “proportional” and justified in self-defense.
The defense attorney, Laurie-Anne Power, KC, stated that her client has “begun to turn a corner in his life.”
The court heard that he endured “substantial turbulence” throughout his youth.
“Despite living in a family environment with two supporting parents since he was two years old, he still struggles with feelings of abandonment, rejection, or loss,” Ms. Power said.
At the very least, he is maturing and growing up.
She continued, “He accepts full responsibility for his acts, but maintains that he never intended to murder Jamie Markham.”
The 15-year-old was found guilty of murder and possession of a bladed or pointed object notwithstanding his denials.