Six men who lured teenager to park and launched 'violent' attack convicted of murder

Six men who lured a teenager to his death in a south London park have been found guilty of his murder.

Nyron John-Baptiste, 22, from Penge, Divon Henry-Campbell, 23, from Streatham, Jason Smith, 20, from Dartford, Jamie Marshall, 22, from Penge, Ryan Girense Brown, 21, from Croydon and Sarraviho Smith, 23, from Camberwell, were found guilty of murder following a trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Michael Jonas suffered fatal knife wounds in Betts Park, Penge, in November 2017 and was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 8.15pm.

CCTV footage taken on the day of the attack showed Michael Jonas, 17, was approached around 7pm on November 2, 2017, by five of the group as he walked down nearby Anerley Road.

The group then walked into the park together.

At 7.12pm, John Baptiste was seen arriving at the scene, with phone analysis later showing he had been called to come to the area by Henry-Campbell.

Three minutes later, all six defendants were seen fleeing the park on bicycles. The fatal attack had taken no more than 120 seconds.

DNA from bloodstains at the scene was found to be one billion times more likely to be from Jean-Baptiste than from an unknown and unrelated individual.

None of the six men ever admitted responsibility or provided a motive for their actions.

However, the court heard how they believed Mr Jonas was a "snitch" and so undertook the fatal attack.

The six defendants were arrested and charged by early December 2017, but the CPS dropped the case the following year.

In October 2022, the CPS agreed to reinstate the original charges and the men were remanded into custody.

The six men will be sentenced on November 20.

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Webb, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: "Michael was just 17 when he was fatally stabbed in a violent, pre-planned attack.

"His family remain devastated by his loss and will never come to terms with what happened that night.

"This has been a long and complex investigation but we were determined to keep fighting for justice and we are pleased these men will now be off the streets of London and unable to cause further harm."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…