Jodie Chesney’s family share heartbreaking photo album & home video as killers face life in jail
JODIE Chesney’s family have shared heartbreaking photos and video of the 17-year-old as her killers were convicted of murder.
The girl scout collapsed and died in her boyfriend’s arms from an 18cm deep knife wound in Romford, East London, on March 1.
As her killers face life behind bars, the Chesney family released a string of pictures showing the young girl in happier times.
The Dagenham girl could be seen smiling with her dad, posing with a dog and sitting on the bonnet of a Mercedes in the touching snaps.
A video even showed the talented pianist tinkling the ivories for the camera.
Slaughtered Jodie was the “blameless” victim of a petty respect row involving a local drug gang and was not the intended target.
Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, and a 17-year-old boy were found guilty of her murder today at the Old Bailey.
Their co-defendants Manual Petrovic, 20, and a 16-year-old boy were cleared of murder after the jury deliberated for six hours.
Members of Jodie’s family, including father Peter and sister Lucy, erupted with cheers of “yes!” and clenched their fists as the guilty verdicts were delivered.
Peter, 39, clenched his fists as tears swelled in his eyes as he and Jodie’s relatives chorused: ‘Justice for Jodie’ outside court.
Speaking outside the Old Bailey, supported by his family, Peter said: “The two people that were in the park are to be sentenced for murder which I am over the moon about.
“We got them. Justice for Jodie! For Jodie!”
SISTER'S HEARTBREAKING STATEMENT
LUCY Chesney said:
“I am only 20 years old and already I am dreading my life rather than looking forward to it.
“Jodie was not only my sister she was my best friend. Losing her is like losing half of myself.
“We went through everything together and she was always there for me and always putting everyone before herself. She gave me a type of love I will never feel again.
“I am anxious about everything: leaving the house, staying in the house, meeting people.
“If someone as good and pure as Jodie could be murdered, it could happen to anyone and I spend everywhere I go looking over my shoulder because of it.
“Jodie will be greatly missed and the people who caused such tragedy to a whole family should hang their head in shame.
“You have ripped away a bright future that was destined to make a change to many lives.”
Earlier, there were tears from Jodie’s sister as the not-guilty verdicts were delivered for murder charges against Manual Petrovic and the 16-year-old boy.
Jurors heard during the trial it wasn’t clear who had inflicted the fatal wound, which came within a few millimetres of fully penetrating her whole body.
Chilling CCTV footage showed Jodie walking with pals to the children’s play park in Harold Hill just moments before she was stabbed in the back.
There was no CCTV footage of the attack on Jodie that night, but images were retrieved of shadowy figures getting out of Petrovic’s car and running into Amy’s Park seconds earlier.
The 17-year-old defendant claimed in his evidence that Ong-a-Kwie had been looking for people he had “issues with in the past”.
In turn, Ong-a-Kwie said the 17-year-old told him he stabbed someone, thinking it was another youth called “Tash”.
odie collapsed “in shock” before collapsing in the arms of boyfriend Eddie Coyle, 18. Jodie tragically died on the way to hospital despite medics battling to save her.
Eddie broke down as he relived the final moments of her young life – including how the knifeman brought the blade down on her shoulder as she sat on a bench.
He told the court: “She started screaming continuously- screaming two minute straight. After she stopped screaming she began to faint.
“I managed to catch her and put her on the floor.
“She was wearing a thick jacket, so we did not how bad the wound was. There was a lot of blood.”