A court convicted three teenagers for the brutal killing of Anthony Marks, a 51-year-old man beaten to death outside King's Cross station in a county lines (drug distribution networks) retribution attack. The Old Bailey found Jaidee Bingham, now 18, guilty of murder on Thursday, while the court convicted Eymaiyah Lee Bradshaw-McKoy, 18, and Mia Campos-Jorge, 19, of manslaughter. All three were aged 16 and 17 at the time of the assault on August 10 last year.
CCTV captured the attack showing the teenagers chasing Marks before hitting him with a car bonnet, stamping on him, and beating him with a gin bottle. The assault caused bleeding on the brain.
Marks died in hospital five weeks later on September 14, 2024. A member of the public intervened during the attack, wielding a cricket bat to drive the attackers away.
Selfies sealed their fate
The trio believed they had escaped justice, posing for smiling selfies before and after the murder and sharing videos of themselves singing and laughing in a car. Police used these social media posts to place them at the crime scene. Detective Inspector Jim Barry said according to the Metropolitan Police: "They believed they had escaped justice, even posing for selfies together and laughing about what they had done. There is a sense of justice that officers were able to use these to place them at the scene of the crime."
County lines violence
The attack stemmed from a drug-related dispute. Gang leaders tasked Bingham, known as "Ghost," with identifying someone responsible for robbing one of the girls of drugs. The teenagers believed Marks had knowledge of the incident. Prosecutor Hugh Davies KC told jurors: "The motivation for each of Bingham, Bradshaw-McKoy and Campos-Jorge is obvious: one of these girls had been robbed and suffered violence when delivering drugs for Bingham and they held either Mr Marks responsible directly or indirectly."
Detective Inspector Jim Barry stated in a police statement: "This is a particularly callous murder that gives an insight into the ruthless brutality of county lines gangs. The ages of Bingham, Bradshaw-McKoy and Campos-Jorge are particularly shocking. But the fact that they were teenagers does not excuse their violent actions as part of a drug line that has brought fear and intimidation to London's streets." He added: "This verdict shows how the Met is taking the fight to criminal gangs and committed to getting justice for their victims."
The court remanded the three defendants into custody pending sentencing. A fourth defendant, Harry Gittins, 36, also charged with murder, saw the jury discharged without reaching a verdict.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
