Teen charged for Jamaican schoolgirl’s murder in London
From Caribbean360
LONDON, England, Friday March 28, 2014 – A 15-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of Jamaica-born schoolgirl Shereka Fab-Ann Marsh, who died at a house in Hackney, East London on Saturday after being shot in the neck.
In a cruel twist of fate, Marsh was shot dead at a get-together for her boyfriend’s birthday as she dropped off a £100 pair of Nike Air Force One trainers she had bought him as a present.
Three boys, one aged 15 and two 16-year-olds, were arrested on suspicion of murder. The two older boys were subsequently released without charge.
Witnesses claim that the 15-year-old boy was “showing off” an antique gun and “waving it around”.
They say that they pleaded with the boy to put the weapon down, but moments later the firearm unexpectedly discharged and a bullet struck the teenage girl in the neck.
Police and London’s Air Ambulance were called to the house, but the 15-year-old schoolgirl was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination at Poplar Mortuary found Shereka died from a single gunshot wound to the neck.
Marsh, a star pupil at one of Britain’s finest inner-city schools, was the only child of Shyrine Marsh, 41, a chef who moved to England from Jamaica 12 years ago.
Her cousin Tritian Mills said: “I don’t know how she’s coping. How do you cope when you’ve lost your only child?”
According to family friend Kourtney Fraser-Grant: “Shereka’s mother is a chef who worked really hard and long hours to support her daughter. Shereka was all she had.”
Chainelle Jennings, 16, a friend and schoolmate of the victim for five years, added: “She lived with her mum, her dad was in Jamaica. They just had each other, just them two and they lived together. She cherished her mum. Her mum was very protective.”
The popular schoolgirl was a prefect at The Urswick School in Hackney, one of the top 100 most improved schools in England.
Just nine days before she died, the teenager was chosen to welcome the Jamaican High Commissioner, Aloun Ndombet-Assambaand, and other dignitaries on a visit to the Church of England secondary school.
Local Labour councillor Patrick Vernon was among the VIP party shown the school by the teenager. Commenting on her death, he said: “I remember speaking to her. She had big plans for the future.
“She was a prefect at the school. I’m in shock. What a waste of talent and life. We must stop this.”
Krista Brown, an ambassador for the National Apprenticeship Service, whose son Shad Brown knows all parties directly involved in the tragedy, said: “It’s a tragic situation for both sides of the coin.
“And that’s what should be noted, it really is. Nice girl, just a local girl. This is a local community. They’re our kids, what people fail to realise is that this is our kids’ reality.
“She went to my niece’s school, Urswick School. Pretty girl, nice, hard-working. From what I’ve seen on Facebook popular, friends with everybody. But the boy was as well in fairness. The boys involved were as well.”
Referring to the gun, she said: “Round here, they probably get given them by older kids. It could have been my son a week ago. Most of these kids get no opportunities. Lack of dads is a huge issue.”
Tributes continue to be paid to the victim on Twitter and Facebook. A Facebook page called “R.I.P. Shereka” had nearly 9,000 likes within 24 hours of her death
PHOTO: Nine days before she was shot dead, the 15-year-old was chosen to welcome the Jamaican High Commissioner to the school in Hackney where she was a star pupil. (Credit: hackneygazette.co.uk)
