The grief of Eddie Kinuthia's friends six months on

Eddie was fatally stabbed in a park just yards from his home last year

In a week when Bristol has again been in the spotlight for the fatal stabbing of two teens, another victim’s family is still waiting for answers.

Eddie Kinuthia, died in hospital, on 21 July 2023, after being stabbed in a park in St Pauls, just yards from his home. Nobody has yet been charged.

We spoke to those who knew him about the impact his brutal killing has had on them.

For his friend, Serena, she says it’s been tough, as Eddie wasn’t the first person, she’s lost to knife crime.

“We should not be [aged] 20,19 or 18 experiencing losses at such a young age, where we barely have lived.

“We haven't even got our dream job or succeed in any of our goals," she says.

She says she feels like victims keep getting "younger and younger" and is still in "disbelief and shock" about the deaths of Max Dixon, 16, and Mason Rist, 15.

Serena says boxing and coaching others is helping her with her grief

'Carry on his legacy'

Serena Wiebe, 20, is now studying at university but is also a boxing coach at Empire Fighting Chance gym in Easton.

“Eddie, he was one of those people that always wanted to see people doing well," she says.

“Instead of dwelling on the fact that I've lost my friend, I wanted to carry on his legacy.

“I wanted to support as many people as I could, because I didn't want anything like this to happen again.”

At the gym, they run special boxing and therapy sessions where young people use physical activity to work through their trauma.

For Serena, she says coaching has also been a way to help deal with her own grief.

“Obviously, it still hurts but I managed to find a way to cope.

“I’ve had moments where I’ve suffered with depression due to the trauma of finding out how someone I grew up with passed away.

“When I'm speaking to other people and I understand that they're going through the same thing, it’s managed to help me cope.”

For Marcel Seager, 19, another friend of Eddie’s he says the past six months have been like a “rollercoaster”.

“I’ve had lots of ups and downs.

“There’s been points where I’ve been thinking I’ll message Eddie but then suddenly realise that he’s not here any more.”

Marcel says the past six months have been like a "rollercoaster"

Marcel, has found that even though talking about Eddie is hard, it makes him feel better.

“There’s a social stigma of men dealing with problems, you suck it up," he tells me.

“I’ve contradicted that.

“I've learned that talking and being open really does help, mentally and physically.”

One of those who has been supporting Eddie’s friends, is Dayton Powell, 42, a violence reduction consultant at Empire Fighting Chance gym.

He says young people are more open to listening to him, because of his own personal experience of violence.

“I've been stabbed in the stomach when I was 16 and I lost my best friend as well.

“I've seen the gang violence.

“I've seen so much of it that I've become desensitised to it.”

Dayton set up a community action group to tackle violence following Eddie's death

Following, Eddie’s death, he set up a new community action group, Each One Teach One UK, to tackle the issues of gangs, crime, and violence among young people.

“We set up group therapy sessions as a lot of the kids were pent up and you could see that a lot of the kids didn't want to talk about it," he says.

“Some people just felt really frustrated that it could happen to such a good kid.”

They are now fundraising, for a week long retreat to support Eddie’s friends and other young people.

A statement from Avon and Somerset Police said: "The investigation continues with officers continuing to trawl CCTV, review every piece of information and follow up any line of enquiry.

"There were lots of people in the Grosvenor Road area of St Paul's that Friday night, 21 July 2023 and officers still want them to come forward, even if they don't think they know anything which could help.

"The tiniest piece of information could be the vital clue which brings the case home to the right person."