A man has been found guilty of killing a 16-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in front of his mother in her bedroom in south London.
Romario Gordon, 22, was part of a group that forced their way into Camron Smith’s home on July 1, 2021, where they killed him in a brutal attack.
Camron’s mother, Audrey Johnson, desperately tried to protect her son — standing between him and the attackers with her arms outstretched — and even managed to grab one of the gang’s weapons, a large zombie knife with a curved 16-inch blade, the court heard.
But within minutes, Camron — who was unarmed and dressed only in his underwear—had been surrounded and fatally stabbed.
An investigation later revealed that Gordon had fled to The Gambia just days after the murder.
The Met Police issued an international arrest warrant, and Gordon was detained upon returning to the UK in August 2023.
He was found guilty of manslaughter at the Old Bailey on September 25.
The court heard how a group of masked men entered two homes on Bracken Avenue, Croydon, before kicking down the door to Camron’s property.
After a struggle downstairs, the group chased Camron and his mother upstairs, where he tried to barricade them both inside a bedroom.
Gordon, who was 17 at the time, was captured on CCTV fleeing from a stolen taxi and disposing of a large machete shortly after the attack.
He and his co-defendants were linked to the killing through DNA evidence recovered from the abandoned minicab, which was found in Hastings Road, Lower Addiscombe.
Gordon has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.
At a previous trial, Romain La Pierre, 22, was found guilty of murder and robbery and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 28 years.
James Olanipekun, 19, was convicted of robbery and manslaughter and jailed for eight years while Jordan Tcheuko, 21, was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 15 years.
Man ‘laid in wait’ to murder ex-wife as she put flowers on their son’s grave
Man guilty of murdering Porsche driver amid outbreak of ‘Wild West’ violence
Family of stabbing victim vow he will not be another knife crime statistic
Ealing murder: Mother in 'toxic relationship' stabbed to death by husband
Teenager accused of ‘catastrophic’ stabbing outside station appears in court
