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| Jodie Chesney murder: Svenson Ong-a-Kwie and 17-year-old boy guilty | Jodie Chesney murder: Svenson Ong-a-Kwie and 17-year-old boy guilty |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Two teenagers have been found guilty of murdering 17-year-old Jodie Chesney in a park in east London. | Two teenagers have been found guilty of murdering 17-year-old Jodie Chesney in a park in east London. |
| Jodie was stabbed in the back in a case of mistaken identity as she socialised with friends in Harold Hill on 1 March. | |
| Drug dealer Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, and a 17-year-old boy were both convicted of murder following an eight-week trial at the Old Bailey. | Drug dealer Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, and a 17-year-old boy were both convicted of murder following an eight-week trial at the Old Bailey. |
| Manuel Petrovic, 20, of Romford, and a 16-year-old boy were both cleared of murder and manslaughter. | Manuel Petrovic, 20, of Romford, and a 16-year-old boy were both cleared of murder and manslaughter. |
| The jury spent less than six hours deliberating their verdicts on all four defendants. | The jury spent less than six hours deliberating their verdicts on all four defendants. |
| Judge Wendy Joseph QC said Ong-a-Kwie and the 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, would be sentenced on 18 November. | Judge Wendy Joseph QC said Ong-a-Kwie and the 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, would be sentenced on 18 November. |
| Following the guilty verdicts, Det Ch Insp Dave Whellams, of Scotland Yard, said the murder of "girl next door" Jodie had "shocked a nation". | |
| He added: "It could have been anybody's daughter. She was a very nice girl, she had a small circle of friends, she did well at school, worked in the community. | He added: "It could have been anybody's daughter. She was a very nice girl, she had a small circle of friends, she did well at school, worked in the community. |
| "They have gone there purposefully to stab somebody and they have not cared who they stabbed. They stabbed a 17-year-old girl in the back for no reason." | "They have gone there purposefully to stab somebody and they have not cared who they stabbed. They stabbed a 17-year-old girl in the back for no reason." |
| Throughout the trial it was never disputed that Ong-a-Kwie and the teenager were the two people who went into Amy's Park on the night Jodie was stabbed. | Throughout the trial it was never disputed that Ong-a-Kwie and the teenager were the two people who went into Amy's Park on the night Jodie was stabbed. |
| The pair blamed each other for the stabbing, while Ong-a-Kwie admitted burning his clothes with a cigarette lighter. | The pair blamed each other for the stabbing, while Ong-a-Kwie admitted burning his clothes with a cigarette lighter. |
| Jurors heard Jodie had her back to her attackers and the knife almost passed through her body. | Jurors heard Jodie had her back to her attackers and the knife almost passed through her body. |
| After being stabbed the teenager screamed and fell into the arms of her boyfriend Eddie Coyle, the court was told. | After being stabbed the teenager screamed and fell into the arms of her boyfriend Eddie Coyle, the court was told. |
| Frantic efforts were made to save her but she was pronounced dead in a petrol station in Gants Hill about an hour later. | Frantic efforts were made to save her but she was pronounced dead in a petrol station in Gants Hill about an hour later. |
| Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC told the jury Jodie was "a victim of a brutal act of unprovoked violence". | Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC told the jury Jodie was "a victim of a brutal act of unprovoked violence". |
| He described the girl's death as "another example" of the "terrible consequences of the carrying and using of knives". | He described the girl's death as "another example" of the "terrible consequences of the carrying and using of knives". |
| "It seems every day now in our city another young life is lost to a knife," he said. | "It seems every day now in our city another young life is lost to a knife," he said. |
| During his evidence, Mr Petrovic admitted driving the group to Harold Hill but denied any knowledge of what happened in Amy's Park. | During his evidence, Mr Petrovic admitted driving the group to Harold Hill but denied any knowledge of what happened in Amy's Park. |
| He told jurors he was "glad he was arrested because he had nothing to hide". | He told jurors he was "glad he was arrested because he had nothing to hide". |
| Following the verdict, Peter Chesney said his daughter's murder had "destroyed my life". | |
| "I have no idea how I am going to continue with my life or even come to terms with the loss," he said. | |
| Jodie's sister Lucy wrote in a victim impact statement that she had been "dreading my life rather than looking forward to it" following the 17-year-old's death. | |
| "Jodie was not only my sister she was my best friend. Losing her is like losing half of myself." | |
| She added that she was now "anxious about everything" as "if someone as good and pure as Jodie could be murdered, it could happen to anyone and I spend everywhere I go looking over my shoulder because of it". |