Teenage boy appears in court charged with stabbing father to death outside home

A 14-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with stabbing a father to death outside his own home.

James Markham, 45, was attacked in Churchill Terrace, Chingford, east London, after confronting a group of teenagers who had verbally abused his daughter and her friend, the Old Bailey heard.

The court heard that Mr Markham had returned home at about 6pm on August 9 and went out to a shed at the rear of his home.

The court was told Mr Markham’s daughter then arrived home with a friend after being verbally abused by a “gang of youths” who were shouting and swearing.

Mr Markham went out to confront the gang and was stabbed twice, once under his armpit – which was the fatal injury – and in the neck, the court heard.

He was pronounced dead at 7.16pm.

The 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared by videolink on Tuesday and is charged with murder, possession of a knife in a public place and breach of a criminal behaviour order.

A plea hearing was set for November 2 at the Old Bailey.

The Metropolitan Police said a second boy, also 14, who was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder has been released under investigation.

A 16-year-old girl who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender has also been released under investigation.

Mr Markham was described as “a man with a good heart and good soul” by a family friend, while floral tributes have been laid at the scene in his memory.