'His mum had no idea'
To the outside world, John Soyoye was a young man who had the world at his feet. The 16-year-old was studying in college, and had a passion for music.
A second trial revealed how their rivals sought to get revenge for John's killing. Their deadly animosity was seemingly over no more than geographical boundaries, and 'beef' fuelled via social media and drill music rap lyrics. And a senior detective with experience of some of Manchester's most notorious outfits has claimed that urban street gangs such as M40 and the RTD can be just as dangerous as feared mobs of yesteryear such as Salford's A Team, and south Manchester's notorious Gooch and Doddington.
John Soyoye was not one of those attackers but he filmed some of it and posted the footage on social media. The RTD felt they could not let this go unpunished. They also summoned their troops, ready for a battle. As they moved onto Kenyon Lane, the 13 strong RTD began to charge, some holding knives or machetes, others with more improvised weapons including a stick or bat.
But it was hopeless. He stumbled on nearby Birchenall Street. Surrounded, he was brutally set upon, being stabbed, punched and kicked. One of the senior police officers tasked with investigating this deadly gang rivalry was Detective Sergeant Julie Connor. "His mum has had no idea of that side of his life," DS Connor said of John's mother Evelyn Soyoye.
Soon after, the M40 began to plot their revenge. Harry Oni, 18, a friend of John's who was at the scene of his murder, later revealed that he 'needed to take revenge'. Asked why, he said: "Because I felt like it was my fault." All of John's killers, except Al-Jaf, were of Portuguese descent. DS Connor said: "It seems like, from what we can find out, because there's been no cooperation from them really, that they have come over more or less as teenagers, and they've finished off school as late teenagers then they've gone to college, and then started working.
Officers found a note on the phone of one of John's killers' created two days after the murder, which read: "Same day that my bro got touched is the same day that your bro got murdered." "Sometimes they are not always being disrespectful, they might be paying respect to the victim. But obviously the RTD weren't paying respect to MD ."
"But it's going to need a big effort to do that, it is like a culture change. "Teenagers have got used to arming themselves. There's schools in this country with metal detectors, there wasn't when I was at school." Tchipenda was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years. Semedo was jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Boy, 16, charged after three die in wrong-way M606 crashA taxi driver, his passenger and a teenager in a van died in the motorway smash near Bradford.
Read more »
The 16 Best LED Face Masks To Supercharge Your Skincare RoutineThere’s a reason they feature in so many celebrity selfies.
Read more »
The lowest MacBook Pro 16-inch prices in July 2022Bagging the lowest MacBook Pro 16-inch prices is easy.
Read more »
iOS 16 includes this awesome hidden innovationLift Subject from Background is a game-changer
Read more »
Crash caused delays on M25 anticlockwise between junctions 16 and 17All four lanes are now reopen on the M25 between junctions 16 and 17, anticlockwise.
Read more »
iOS 16 includes some awesome hidden innovationLift Subject from Background is a game-changer
Read more »