Five Local Men Jailed for Killing Taekwondo Star
Gang refuse to reveal why they ran over and beat teenager to death
Victim - 18 year-old Amrou Greenidge
Five men from the Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush area have been jailed at the Old Bailey for killing a teenager in Fulham two years ago. The jury had cleared them of murder but they all received lengthy jail sentences for manslaughter.
After a lengthy trial the five friends were found guilty of running over 18-year-old Amrou Greenidge in a stolen Mini while he was on his bike and then getting out and assaulting him with weapons at around 2.42pm on 18 August 2019.
They had set out to the area armed with knives and wearing balaclavas and face masks to hunt down their victim. CCTV footage showed Amrou being thrown into the air and bouncing off the car bonnet.
He was found by police lying on Broomhouse Road, between Sulivan Court Estate and Hurlingham Park. He had suffered severe head injuries and died later in hospital.
He had represented Great Britain at the junior European and World Championships for Taekwondo and won the Commonwealth Championship for his age group in 2014.
His former coach at Fusion Taekwondo club in Peckham, Michael Georgiou, paid tribute to him saying, " His charisma and his spirit would just come alive when he was fighting. He was so full of life and just a really good kid.
"All the younger kids looked up to him, but I don’t think he realised what a role model he was. Honestly, I’ve never seen a talent like his in my life."
The men responsible for his death continued to deny involvement during their trial so no explanation was ever given for the attack.
The car was then dumped nearby and one of the group Connor Gywnn-Bliss phoned his father to ask him to buy petrol. The car was set alight damaging several cars parked nearby.
Gwynn Bliss was later treated for serious burns to his face and hands. He had pleaded guilty to arson and was convicted of perverting the course of justice in relation to setting fire to a car used in the killing.
On Monday, 23 August the following people were sentenced as follows:
Kai McDonald, 18, of Roding Court, on Emlyn Gardens, was found guilty of manslaughter – he was jailed for nine years and nine months.
Anas Osman, 19, of Bourbon Lane, W12, was found guilty of manslaughter – he was jailed for 11 years and nine months.
Anas Osman and Kai McDonald
Darrel Mortimer, 21 of Blythe Road, W14, was found guilty of manslaughter – he was jailed for 17 years.
Connor Gwynn-Bliss, 21 of Weltje Road, Hammersmith was found guilty of manslaughter, arson and perverting the course of justice – he was jailed for 20 years.
Levar Jackson-Scott, 18 of Burgundy Place, Bourbon Lane, Shepherd’s Bush was found guilty of manslaughter – he was jailed for 12 years and six months.
Darrel Mortimer, Levar Jackson-Scott and Connor Gwynn-Bliss
As part of their investigation, officers collected and viewed a large amount of CCTV from the scene of the attack, as well as where the Mini was found abandoned. Five people were captured getting out of the car.
Having identified those who were in the car, detectives carried out further enquiries to track them down.
Jackson-Scott was arrested the following day. Bliss was arrested on in a hospital where he was being treated for burns. Osman was arrested later that evening by officers from Bedfordshire Police at Luton Airport. Mortimer was arrested in Northamptonshire. Kai McDonald, who was identified as the driver, was arrested on suspicion of murder on 26 August 2019.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Wood, who led the investigation, said, “Amrou was deliberately targeted by the defendants, who laid in wait for him with the sole aim of inflicting serious injury.
"A considerable degree of planning went into this offence. The defendants attempted to conceal their identities with balaclavas and hoods before and during the attack. They used a stolen car both as a weapon and to flee the scene and a number of them changed their clothing shortly afterwards to avoid detection.
"This was a cowardly attack with Amrou caught unaware and heavily outnumbered. They chased him down, and even as Amrou lay on the ground having been struck and critically injured by the car, they surrounded him and continued their assault.
"None of those convicted have been able to provide any explanation for why they attacked Amrou. In fact, throughout this investigation, they have denied any involvement in his death.”
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August 23, 2021