05/01/2005

Three arrests made in Damilola Taylor murder case

Three men have been arrested in connection with the murder of schoolboy Damilola Taylor, the Metropolitan Police have confirmed.

The men were arrested on January 5 and are being held for questioning at a south London police station.

Damilola Taylor was stabbed in the thigh on his way home from school in Peckham, south-east London, on November 27, 2000. The ten-year-old bled to death in a stairwell of the North Peckham Estate shortly afterwards.

Four teenagers were arrested for the schoolboy's murder, but they were cleared in April 2002, after the judge ruled that the prosecution's key witness, a 14-year-old girl, was unreliable. The girl caused a sensation, clashing with the defence lawyers before storming out of the courtroom on two occasions. However, following the failed trial the murder investigation remained open.

Damilola's parents, Richard and Gloria, have been informed of the latest developments in the case.

Commenting on the arrests, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bill Griffiths, from the Met's Specialist Crime Directorate, said: "These significant developments today are the result of a determined effort to establish the truth of what happened on that day. I pay tribute to Mr and Mrs Taylor for their patience, understanding and support throughout the course of this investigation."

(KmcA/SP)

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