Father finds peace as son's killers are jailed

Michael Jonas was stabbed to death in Betts Park, Penge

Six men have received life sentences for the murder of 17-year-old Michael Jonas, who was stabbed in a London park in 2017. His father, also called Michael, reflects on the loss of his son and why, even after all charges were dropped early on in the case, he never gave up hope for justice.

Every year, on the anniversary of Michael Jonas’s murder, his father returns to the park where his son was killed to hold a vigil for him.

Friends and family, shielding candles from the wind and rain, huddle in the darkness in Betts Park, Penge, south-east London, close to the spot where the 17-year-old was ambushed.

But this year is different. More than five years on from that night, six teenagers have finally been convicted of Michael's murder.

“We can live in peace, knowing that we have removed six of the most dangerous youths from Penge,” Mr Jonas tells those who have gathered.

Michael Jonas holds a vigil every year at the park where his son was stabbed

It has been a long and difficult wait for justice.

On the evening of Michael’s murder, 2 November 2017, Mr Jonas had been on his way to meet his son, to surprise him, when his daughter rang.

“She said, ‘Oh Daddy, there seems to be a problem. Michael seems to be in trouble'.”

He says the phone was passed to someone else, who told him his son was dead.

“I just ran right in the middle of the road,” Mr Jonas says, describing how he desperately tried to flag down a bus. “The driver was asking me, 'What’s happening?' I’m telling him, 'Drive, drive, drive!'”

It was too late. Michael had been pronounced dead at the scene. Held back by police, his father says he waited outside the park until dawn.

Clockwise from top left, Divon Henry-Campbell, Jamie Marshall, Jason Smith, Sorraviho Smith, Ryan Brown and Nyron John-Baptiste were sentenced on 6 February

Within weeks, six teenagers had been charged with Michael’s murder. CCTV had captured a group of young people on bikes just outside the park.

But a few months later, the charges were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service. There was seemingly not enough evidence to take the case to court.

“I felt a bit downhearted,” Mr Jonas says. “The death of Michael, it break a family bad.”

His family liaison officer, Det Con Rebecca Pitcher, to whom he refers affectionately as "Mama Becky", says it was a difficult point in their relationship.

“It was a really tough period for him and his family to believe anything that I had to say, because nothing was happening - but we knew in the background things were,” she says.

'People don’t talk to the police'

Police were working to secure more evidence and witnesses. Initially, people were reluctant to come forward.

A £20,000 reward was offered, but Mr Jonas says that while some were prepared to share information with him, they did not trust the Met.

“People don’t talk to the police. People think police are the bad guys. But if someone does something to your family, and you have to tell the authority what happens, does that make you a snitch? That doesn’t make you a snitch.”

Detectives did not give up, and in October 2022, the same six young men were again charged with murder.

“It was a huge eureka moment,” says Det Con Pitcher.

Senior investigating officer, Det Ch Insp Matthew Webb, says there was no “smoking gun”, and it was more a case of bringing lots of elements together to prove all six suspects were at the scene.

“CCTV, witness accounts, comms data analysis, to paint a picture, a timeline.”

‘They thought they got away with it’

All six men, Nyron Jean-Baptiste, 22; Divon Henry-Campbell, 23, from Gravesend in Kent; Jason Smith, 20; Jamie Marshall, 22, from Bromley; Ryan Girense Brown, 21, from Croydon and Sarraviho Smith, 24, were convicted of murder at Southwark Crown Court in October and sentenced at the Old Bailey on 6 February.

Jean-Baptiste, who was already serving 19 years in prison after he was found guilty of murder of Jay Hughes a year after Michael's murder, was sentenced to a minimum of 31 years.

Jason Smith, who was 14 years old at the time of the attack, was given a 12 years and six months minimum term.

Henry-Campbell was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years while Marshall was jailed for a minimum term of 13 years.

Brown was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years while Sarraviho Smith was sentenced to a minimum term of 17 years, which took into account the remaining time he is currently serving for an attempted robbery.

“They thought they had gotten away with it,” Mr Jonas says.

He hopes their conviction sends a strong message to young people prepared to carry knives.

“We are not standing for this any more. We will not glorify you any more. We will drive you out of our community, to keep our community safe.”

He is frustrated that his son’s killers have never explained why they took Michael’s life. “I would happily love to know,” he says.

Det Ch Insp Webb agrees. “None of them decided to give evidence at court," he says.

"None of them took to the stand to explain to the jury, or account for their actions or the evidence. To me, that’s quite telling.”

'Broken inside'

Michael's mother Petrona Anderson said her son would be "missed forever" and his death gives her "nightmares every night".

In a victim impact statement read to the court, she said: "The passing of my son makes me feel broken inside, as if a part of me has gone with him.

"Not a day goes by where I don't think about him. I miss him so much.

"Michael was loved by everyone. He was a talented young man with goals and morals."

Mr Jonas said: "Listening to the detail in court about how my son was brutally killed will stay with me for the rest of my days.

"No-one should ever have to bury their child first, it's my death sentence.

"There is a hole in my heart that will stay there forever."

Michael Jonas told a vigil for his son that "we can live in peace"

Following sentencing, Mr Jonas thanked Det Con Pitcher.

“My relationship with the police has not always been easy and even at the beginning of the investigation I was wary and distrustful," he says.

“From the day Michael died, Becky has been there every step of the way. She has answered our questions, guided us through the court process and most of all reassured us that her team weren’t ever going to give up.

“She has become part of our family and we will never forget everything she has done for us.”

'You are someone'

Meanwhile, Mr Jonas says he desperately wants some good to come from Michael’s murder.

He would like to see more early intervention for young people who carry knives, to help them think about what kind of future they want.

He says Michael, who was practical and loved helping others, had hoped to become a mechanical engineer.

“He didn’t get the chance to do it.

“We’re hoping other youths, the same guy who’s going to put a knife up, can stop and think: 'Who am I?'

"Stand in the mirror and look. Because you are someone. You are someone.”