Scotland Yard is continuing to appeal for witnesses after a fifteen-year-old’s appearance at The Old Bailey, charged with murdering a Peckham youngster near a house party last week.
The boy of fifteen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on Sunday and appeared in the dock yesterday.
Sixteen-year-old Leoandro Osemeke was pronounced dead on August 5 by paramedics on the pavement in Colgrove Road at about 7.15pm. A post-mortem examination found he had been fatally wounded in his upper body.
Standing in court yesterday, the young defendant, also from Peckham, wore a white long-sleeve T-shirt and grey tracksuit bottoms. He spoke only to confirm his name during the brief hearing.
Prosecutor Julian Evans QC said: “The defendant is charged with murder and members of the deceased’s family are sitting in the court this afternoon.”
There was no application for bail and Judge Rebecca Poulet QC set a provisional date of January 23 for a trial which is expected to last two weeks.
The defendant was remanded in custody before a plea and trial preparation hearing on October 26.
Friends and fans have paid tribute to Leoandro, an aspiring rapper who performed under the name Showkey.
Leoandro, a pupil at Addey and Stanhope School, in New Cross, was due to collect his GCSEs this month.
The boy’s father, Emmanuel, said his mourning family would “all miss Leoandro deeply”. He had hoped to take his son on holiday to Nigeria this month.
One Colgrove Road resident, who did not want to be named, told the News he saw about 50 kids at the party.
The man said: “My wife saw him [Leoandro] on the road when they [paramedics] were trying to deal with him.”
Leoandro was a close friend of a seventeen-year-old Lewisham teenager and fellow rapper, Myron Yarde, who was killed on April 3 in New Cross.
Detectives are appealing for anyone with information to call police on 02083453865 or Crimestoppers on 0800555111.