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Doors which could have saved Arsema Dawit broken for months
Jack Lefley and Benedict Moore-Bridger6 Jun 2008
Security doors that could have saved stabbed schoolgirl Arsema Dawit were left in disrepair for months after failures by council bosses.
The broken doors meant that anyone could walk off the street into the block where the former choirgirl was knifed to death in a lift on Monday.
Residents in Matheson Lang Gardens, near Waterloo Station, had fought for at least three months to get the system fixed amid fears for their safety.
New ground-floor security doors were installed last Friday but only made operational yesterday - three days after Arsema's death.
Residents today accused Lambeth council of leaving the block unprotected and allowing the killer to strike.
Many had complained after a string of security breaches including:
• Youths from other estates using the block to take drugs.
• Vandals daubing walls with graffiti and starting fires.
• Louts defecating in the building.
• Couples having sex on the floor outside tenants' front doors.
• Homeless people sleeping in corridors.
Farah Carver, a catering manager, said: "For months anyone has been able to get in here. I complained so many times but the council just ignored us."
The 43-year-old mother of two added: "They finally locked them yesterday - which was too late for this poor girl."
The Standard has seen emails illustrating one resident's three-month battle with town hall chiefs.
Stuart Simpson, an internal control officer with investment bank Calyon Credit Agricole CIB, demanded the problem be fixed to protect him, his girlfriend and other residents.
Mr Simpson, 30, said the council had ignored his concerns and accused them of negligence, while other residents claimed the doors had not been functioning properly for up to a year.
Retired cab driver George Flaxman, 84, said: "The council told me they were going to fix the doors and the intercom system but it took them ages. They finally got them sorted only after this happened."
Arsema, 15, was stabbed up to 10 times as she made her way home from the Harris Academy in Bermondsey. Her body was discovered by a neighbour in the block where she lived with her family.
Her mother, Tsehainesh Medhani, has accused police of failing to act on several claims that the girl was being harassed.
Local Liberal Democrat councillor Peter Truesdale said the council had also failed to take measures that could have prevented her death.
He said: "If the doors had been working, they would have closed behind her and no one would have been able to follow her in. If the system had been working it may have saved her life."
It has also emerged that a key witness has still not been interviewed by detectives despite finding the schoolgirl's body.
Monica Badu, who lives in the same block, was with her six-year-old son Ezekiel, another neighbour and their nine-year-old daughter when she discovered Arsema's body in a lift just yards from her home. But four days after the killing, officers have still not asked her to give a statement.
The mother-of-three said: "Police have spoken to other people but not me. They came just to take my details. I told them I was there. They did not seem interested. It is an example of them not doing their job."
An Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation will now examine Arsema's family's claims that they repeatedly complained about her being harassed and allegedly assaulted in the weeks before her killing.
Thomas Nugusse, 21, a student from Ilford, has been charged with Arsema's murder. He has been remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 21 August.
Reader views (4)
Yes, I agree, the door should have been fixed. But what if the attacker lives in the same building?
And yes, surely, the perpetrators of such vile acts need to be punished. Along with the regular administration of justice, we need to look inwards and seriously question ourselves and our society. Are we grown-ups not responsible for this youth behaviour?
- Marco Garau, london, 09/06/2008 11:54
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Lambeth Labour council are clearly to blame here by failing to provide adequate security.
As stated in the above article, any passing arsonist could set a fire killing hundreds and just walk off into the night.
As 1/4 of all community charge goes towards council staff pensions, the more that is saved in housing upkeep goes somewhere doesn't it!!
- David Diggins, Derby. England., 07/06/2008 11:45
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It beggars belief that we cannot take the simplest measures to keep people safe. I admit the police are overrun with work, but, at what cost to these poor young kids. There is real fear out there, and unless solutions are found immediately, this government will have blood on its hands. Arsema and countless others have died needlessly. For god's sake, a lock on the door could have saved this girls life. I would not want to be the conscience of that council paper pusher who put this to the back of the pile.
- Maya Rani, London, 06/06/2008 15:17
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Sorry but if he wanted to kill her (broken doors or not) he would have somehow.
- Charlie, London, 06/06/2008 12:42
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