The mother of a 15-year-old machete murder victim accuses social services of failing to help get her son away from drug dealers who groomed him.
Joelle Taylor claims Greenwich Council refused to accept that Daejaun Campbell met their threshold for assistance until it was too late and failed to provide support for his family.
Daejaun cried out “I’m 15, don’t let me die” after being ambushed in Woolwich, southeast London on September 22, 2024.
His friend, aspiring rapper Kelyan Bokassa, 14, nicknamed Grippa, featured in a YouTube video titled Gotta Eat, in which he was seen crouching beside a floral tribute to Daejaun.
Then on January 7, Kelyan was also fatally stabbed by two 16-year-old boys with machetes on a bus in the same borough.
Both killings were linked to street gang culture.
Ms Taylor, whose son was exploited and groomed by older youths, told BBC Panorama: “There were so many opportunities to have safeguarded him, protected him, and they failed him.”
The programme said it had seen evidence that a Greenwich social worker eventually assigned to Daejaun’s case failed to turn up to two crucial meetings in the weeks before he was killed.
It is said when Ms Taylor emailed social services to say she was desperate for help, they failed to reply, until she chased them again a week later.
A day after his murder, according to the documentary, the council emailed Ms Taylor to rearrange one meeting, unaware that Daejaun was dead.
Councillor Anthony Okereke, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich: “We welcomed the opportunity to discuss a topic which tears families apart across the country.
“We completely understand the anger and devastation of Marie and Jodian and the destruction that knife crime does to our communities.
“Knife crime is not a problem specific to Greenwich, but we were appalled by the violence that took place on our streets.
“We’re never doing enough until there are no knives in pockets, which is why we’re supporting outreach programmes, educating young people, working with mental health teams in schools and providing practical solutions like weapon amnesty bins.
“Two separate statutory Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews are currently underway which explores the partnership involvement with both boys, which will be published imminently.
“Because of this, it would be premature to comment in detail until we have established the facts and circumstances surrounding their lives.
“We don’t yet know the outcome of the review, which can take time due to the seriousness and sensitivity it’s treated with.
“We have been in contact with both families to offer our support and update them on the review process.
“We know that no two young people are the same and that there are many reasons and circumstances that can lead to a tragedy. It’s our job to try to understand exactly how this happened and how we can best support families.
“Both the boys’ families have had the opportunity to contribute to the review and feed into any recommendations for ways the partnership and council works. Once the reviews have been finalised, we’ll share its findings and keep the families updated.”
In October, Imri Doue, 18, of Brumwell Avenue in Woolwich, was locked up for life with a minimum term of 21 years for Daejaun’s murder and having a machete.
His co-accused Marko Balaz, 19, from Sewell Road, Abbey Wood, received 11 years for Daejaun’s manslaughter and drugs offences.
Panorama - Knife Crime: What Happened to Our Boys? Is on BBC One at 8pm on Monday, February 9 and available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.
