Thug guilty of stabbing boy, 16, to death in front of his horrified mother

A thug has been convicted of killing a teenage boy in front of his horrified mother in a "frenzy of violence."

Romario Gordon, 22, has been found guilty after Camron Smith, 16, was stabbed to death inside his home. Gordon was part of a group who were “effectively hunting as a pack” as they looked for the teen. The group had stormed into two other properties before they kicked the door of Camron's home down, the Old Bailey heard.

They forced their way inside and chased him upstairs on July 1 2021. A defenceless Camron attempted to barricade himself and his mother, Audrey Johnson, inside a bedroom. The 16-year-old was unarmed and dressed only in his boxer shorts.

His mother desperately tried to protect himand tried to grab a large black zombie knife with a serrated, curved 16-inch blade brandished by one of the attackers. She then stood, arms outstretched, in between her son and the group in an attempt to stop them. But within minutes, Camron had been surrounded and fatally stabbed at the property in Bracken Avenue,Croydon, South London.

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Gordon, who was 17 at the time, was later seen on CCTV fleeing from a stolen taxi and disposing of a large machete in an adjacent road. The trial heard that he had left the country two days after the killing, before he could be identified and arrested.

Detective Chief Inspector Samantha Townsend, from Specialist Crime South, said: “Camron was just 16 when his life was brutally ended in a frenzy of violence in his own home. Romario Gordon is the fourth person convicted over Camron’s killing. The path to justice in this case has been long, and our thoughts are with Camron’s family and friends, who have endured multiple trials.

“The injuries inflicted on Camron were shocking. From the very start, the investigation team was determined to get the people responsible off our streets. Despite the complexity of the investigation, and attempts to hinder our enquiries, we have succeeded in bringing him to justice.”

On Thursday, Gordon was found guilty of manslaughter after a jury deliberated for nearly nine hours. Judge Anuja Dhir KC remanded him into custody to be sentenced on a date to be fixed. At an earlier trial, Gordon was cleared of murdering 17-year-old Damani Mauge who was stabbed in the chest and neck with a 24cm blade on a London bus in March 2020.

He is the fourth defendant to be convicted for their part in Camron’s death. Romain La Pierre, 22, was found guilty of murder and robbery of the minicab and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 28 years at a previous Old Bailey trial. James Olanipekun, 19, was convicted of robbery and manslaughter and jailed for eight years. Jordan Tcheuko, 21, was convicted of Camron’s manslaughter and jailed for 15 years.