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Mother sees killer of her 14-year-old son locked up for 12 years
Paul Cheston and Rashid Razaq16 Jan 2009
THE teenage thug who stabbed 14-year-old David Idowu through the heart was jailed for a minimum of 12 years today.
For the first time he can be named as Congo-born Elijah Dayoni, who has a string of convictions from his short time in Britain.
Dayoni was under a supervision order, imposed for an earlier offence of shoplifting, when he stabbed David.
David's mother Grace Idowu watched from the public gallery of the Old Bailey as Dayoni was sentenced.
She said: "I want to ask him why he chose David? What did my son do to you? Why have you taken my child from me? A 1,000-year sentence is not going to bring my David back to me. I am upset and angry at this boy, but I have my faith and I have made my peace."
Dayoni, 16, was named by judge Mr Justice Calvert-Smith, lifting the anonymity normally granted to boys of his age.
David was stabbed in the chest in Great Dover Street, Southwark, just yards from his front door in June last year. Dayoni was caught on CCTV laughing and grinning.
David died in hospital three weeks later, the youngest victim of London's knife culture.
Dayoni, who had travelled from his home in Lewisham with the knife to attack David, was found guilty of murder at Kingston crown court last month and sentenced today.
Mrs Idowu, 48, a supermarket checkout assistant, told how she is still struggling to understand why her son was attacked.
"It's still very, very painful. We carry on with our lives but we miss David every minute, every second," she said.
David, who attended Walworth Academy, had been due to give a speech condemning knife culture at a public- speaking competition.
He was playing football when he was stabbed. Mrs Idowu said: "Another group of boys came along and 30 seconds later they stabbed him. What was it? Nothing. Is that how worthless life has become for these children?"
Dayoni was born in the Congo and raised by a grandmother in Angola before joining his parents in Britain in 2000. In the past two years he has mugged a man, been excluded from school for carrying a replica gun, shoplifted, and carried out a burglary.
Mrs Idowu and her husband, bus driver, Timothy, 56, originally from Nigeria, have three other sons - Timothy Junior, 22, Peter, 19, and James, 13. The family regularly attend the Christ Apostolic Church in Bermondsey.
Reader views (7)
Why was this low life granted residency in the UK? Problem is where he comes from, life is cheap - doesn't matter to kill someone for absolutely no reason. After he has served his sentence (I think he should be hanged), the good old British Government should send him back to where he came from. It is very obvious that he has nothing to contribute to the UK, society or indeed anyone or anything.
- barbara, sydney, Australia,, 18/01/2009 02:45
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..Why are we still 'importing' crime into the UK?
- Joannie, London, England, 17/01/2009 10:10
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another victim of pc uk laws,the only way to deal with these kind of people is to execute them no ifs or buts.
- s.brett, france, 17/01/2009 03:59
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Justice is too weak in Britain. Not only does the punishment need to be tougher, but the murderer's life must be analysed and understood so the system can work out how to minimise the problem of producing entities like him.
- P, London, 16/01/2009 23:39
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12 yrs,12 yrs incarcerated at the tax payers expense.The animal should be hung by the neck till he is dead.We must have a return of the death penalty,extraordinary measures for extraordinary times.
- KEV, London-UK, 16/01/2009 22:39
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Look at his record since the age of 14 . Why was he free to kill? Those who are responsible for pathetic namby pamby ways of dealing with thugs (and other criminals) bear guilt.
- Rob S, London,UK, 16/01/2009 16:41
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There can be few things more terrible than outliving your own child: I hope she doesn't ask him - the Low-Life won't have a sensible answer.
- Roz, Chamonix, France, 16/01/2009 13:18
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