'It can be anyone's child': Mother of murdered Jermaine Cools' plea as killer Marques Walker is jailed for life
9 May 2023, 18:13 | Updated: 9 May 2023, 19:47
The mother of murdered teen Jermaine Cools has made an emotional plea to tackle knife crime, saying "it can be anyone's child" as her son's killer was jailed for life at the Old Bailey.
Lorraine Dudek's unarmed 14-year-old son Jermaine was fatally stabbed with a machete in Croydon, south London, on November 18 2021.
Jermaine became the youngest fatality involving knife crime in the capital that year, with his 16-year-old killer, Marques Walker, now facing a life sentence.
Speaking with LBC, Jermaine's father, Julius Cools, said there was "a missed opportunity" when it came to police stopping Walker before he killed.
Jermaine Cools' father speaks to LBC
"I feel like had it been addressed earlier, he may not have had the opportunity to go out there and kill my son, and I feel like this is something that's increasingly being seen of young males being caught with knives, released back onto the street, and then they go forward to kill somebody," he added.
During the case, the Old Bailey heard how Marques had a history of carrying deadly weapons and had been on bail for carrying a Zombie knife six weeks before.
The court heard how Walker showed a lack of remorse when it came to the killing, writing about the murder in rap lyrics saying: "Even if that youth was a civillian I would still rewind and chef up (stab) his back."
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Walker, now aged 17, pleaded guilty to murder, possessing a knife and causing grievous bodily harm to a fellow inmate while in youth detention after the killing.
On Tuesday, Walker became the first youth to be sentenced on television as he was detained for life at the Old Bailey with a minimum term of 19 years.
Judge Sarah Munro KC, who was briefly interrupted by angry shouting from the public gallery, said: "This is yet another case of the senseless murder of a young teenager committed for reasons no mature adult could fathom."
She said Walker stabbed Jermaine "mercilessly" and the victim "must have been terrified and in agony".
Speaking following the verdict, Jermaine's mother added: "Young males get caught with a knife, the knife gets confiscated. Within an hour they get another one from Snapchat or social media.
"Stop and search has its place and it's very, very good for removing weapons but the follow-up has to be there.
"When Jermaine got stopped and searched I was happy about it. Some parents complain about their children being stopped and searched - that could be the deterrent that stops them."
The court heard how Walker, from Bromley, Kent, was caught on CCTV footage calmly walking towards Jermaine and drawing a machete from his coat.
Jermaine had previously confided in his parents that he was worried about knife crime.
Following the attack, he was driven by a passer-by to the Mayday Hospital where he later died from a chest wound inflicted by the machete.
Police identified the defendant from CCTV footage but he went to ground, sleeping on the sofas of friends for nearly six weeks.
On December 27 2021, he was found at an address hiding behind a bed and initially gave a false name to officers.
The court was told the defendant had previously been caught carrying three large knives.
A Rambo-style blade was seized at his school and at the time of the murder he was on bail for possessing a Zombie knife six weeks earlier.
Superintendent Richard Vandenbergh, of Scotland Yard, said: "It was a horrific event that should never have happened. He was the very youngest that year to have lost their life to knife crime.
"Jermaine's family have spoken out about knife crime and I hope that their courage in speaking out may stop some other family losing a child to this evil crime.
"This youth was able to obtain knife after knife. Anyone seeing the pictures of those weapons police seized from him in the months leading up to the killing of Jermaine should be concerned that weapons like this seem so readily available to young men."
