A teenager has been jailed for manslaughter over the fatal stabbing of a 22-year-old woman at her home in Bermondsey on Christmas Eve.
The now 17-year-old, who was 16 at the time he killed Kacey Clarke on Bermondsey’s Jamaica Road on December 24 last year, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years at the Old Bailey on Friday.
The court heard that the defendant, who knew Kacey but cannot be named due to his age, claimed she was the aggressor and alleged he acted in self-defence when she confronted him with a knife at around 10pm.
However, jurors rejected his account after hearing that workmen discovered a knife in Rail Sidings Road, near the flat, stained with Kacey’s blood around three weeks later.
The Old Bailey heard how police, paramedics, and the air ambulance provided emergency first aid to Kacey but she died at the scene.
A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as a single sharp force trauma to the chest.
The defendant was arrested near to the scene by police officers responding to the killing.
Met Detective Inspector Adam Clifton, who worked on the case, said: “Through a thorough investigation we were able to disprove many assertions made about Kacey, leading to the jury rejecting the defendant’s claim to have been acting in self-defence.
“I am pleased that we have been able to secure justice for her.
"Reducing violence against women and girls remains a key priority for the Met and I would urge anyone who is suffering abuse to reach out for help.”
