By Chris Williamson-
A man has been convicted of murdering a 16-year-old, who was stabbed to death in South London.
Byron Whyne, 20 was convicted of fatally stabbing 16 ear old baby faced, Damarie Roye in Thornton Heath in July , 2021.
Investigating officers were never able to discover the whereabouts of the moped, the weapon, the defendant’s clothes or the mobile phones the duo had been using at the time of the attack. However, they found enough evidence through CCTV footage to convict jealous Whyne of murder.
His co-defendant, Shaquille Braham, 25, from Camden town was acquitted of murder.
Damarie was attacked in broad daylight as he cycled along Bensham Manor Road on the afternoon of 9 July 2021.
On Thursday, 14 April, following a trial at Croydon Crown Court, Whyne was found guilty of murder and possession of a knife.
He was also found guilty of attempted grievous bodily harm (GBH) in relation to a separate incident that occurred elsewhere in Croydon on 15 August 2020.
Detective Chief Inspector Jo Sidaway, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “This was a completely senseless attack against a young boy who had his whole life ahead of him.
“He was brutally murdered simply because Whyne could not control his jealousy.
“All our thoughts are with Damarie’s family and friends. They have suffered an unimaginable loss and have showed admirable strength and bravery during this trial.
“My team of detectives worked tirelessly to build this case, using witness statements, CCTV and the data from Whyne’s ankle tag. There was no doubt in the end that he was responsible.
“Tragically, as police officers, we still see too many incidents like this where young lives are violently taken on the streets of London. Tackling violent crime remains our number one priority and we will not rest in our mission to place violent offenders before the courts.”
Jealousy
The court heard that criminally inclined Whyne was a man motivated by jealousy who could not accept Damarie’s relationship with a girl with whom Whyne had been in a relationship.
Whyne began to harbour a grudge and became controlling even after the relationship, leading to him making threats, including with a knife.
Ultimately, in July last year, he carried out those threats in a brutal attack, without taking into account the prospects of being caught and jailed as is about to happen now.
During the trial the court heard how the occupants of a van, who were in Bensham Manor Road on that afternoon, saw a moped driving erratically, mounting the pavement and making sudden turns to go back in pursuit of a boy who they later learned was Damarie.
Damarie ran from the moped and managed to climb into the van with the help of those inside. It was there they discovered he had a significant chest injury. He was rushed to hospital but sadly, he later died.
Exposed By Camera Footage
Camera footage from another passing vehicle showed the moped, which was being riddle in by two people, encircling Damarie before he was attacked. Even after the teenager had been stabbed, this evil assailants continued to pursue him as he fled.
Other camera footage from nearby houses showed that Whyne, who was the passenger on the moped, and also the person who carried out the stabbing, had a knife in his hand as the moped raced down the road.
Whyne initially denied being involved at all, but an extensive CCTV search allowed detectives match him to the clothing being worn by the moped passenger at the time of the murder, and to plot the route of the moped from Whyne’s home address to Bensham Manor Road and back again.
The evidence against Whyne was particularly overwhelming. He was on bail for another offence and was wearing an electronic tag which not only registered the times he left his home and arrived back again, but also pinged every time he passed another house with a tagging device monitor installed.
The jury also heard that on the day after the attack, Whyne received a call from his ex-partner, and admitted being responsible for stabbing Damarie.
Whyne will be sentenced on Thursday, 28 April at Croydon Crown Court.
Shaquille Braham, 25, from Camden town was acquitted of murder.
Sequence Of Events
On the day of the fatal stabbing, CCTV footage showed Braham travelling from his home in Camden down to Whyne’s house in Grenaby Road, in West London. For the next few hours, they could be seen on multiple clips to be riding a moped, with Braham driving and Whyne sitting behind him. The jury was told Whyne and Braham don’t dispute they were the two people seen on the moped in the footage.
At around 2:45pm, the two were spotted driving into Bensham Manor Road, where they encountered Damarie on a blue mountain bike. Dashcam footage from a member of the public showed Whyne jumping off the moped and over the course of the next four seconds, Damarie attempted to flee, and could be seen running away.
Concerned members of the public who were driving a van thoughtfully slowed down to help Damarie into the passenger side of their vehicle, whilst the moped was in pursuit. They immediately realised that the teenager had suffered a serious stab wound and rushed him to hospital.
Meanwhile, CCTV footage showed Braham and Whyne turned back to steal Damarie’s abandoned bicycle, and later showed the crooks using it to perform ‘wheelies’ on Grenaby Road.
The stab wound inflicted had pierced the teen’s heart, leading to “catastrophic brain injuries” and multiple organ failures. Paramedics had succeeded in restoring a heartbeat, but he died two days later.
Forensic pathologist Olaf Biedrzycki concluded the cause of death as a single stab wound to the chest, following a post-mortem in Croydon Mortuary. jurors that the wound was 11cm deep and would have required “moderate but approaching severe” force.
Detective Chief Inspector Jo Sidaway, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “This was a completely senseless attack against a young boy who had his whole life ahead of him.
“He was brutally murdered simply because Whyne could not control his jealousy.
“All our thoughts are with Damarie’s family and friends. They have suffered an unimaginable loss and have showed admirable strength and bravery during this trial.
“My team of detectives worked tirelessly to build this case, using witness statements, CCTV and the data from Whyne’s ankle tag. There was no doubt in the end that he was responsible.
“Tragically, as police officers, we still see too many incidents like this where young lives are violently taken on the streets of London. Tackling violent crime remains our number one priority and we will not rest in our mission to place violent offenders before the courts.”