Mother Accuses Social Services of Failing 15-Year-Old Son Murdered in Machete Attack
The grieving mother of a 15-year-old boy murdered in a brutal machete attack has publicly accused social services of failing to protect her son from drug dealers who had groomed him. Jodian Taylor's son, Daejaun Campbell, cried out "I'm 15, don't let me die" after being ambushed in a gang-related stabbing in Woolwich, South East London, on September 22, 2024.
Pleas for Help Ignored
Jodian Taylor claims that despite her desperate and repeated pleas for intervention, Greenwich Council refused to accept that Daejaun met the threshold for social services support until it was tragically too late. In a heartbreaking twist, the council emailed Jodian the day after the murder to rearrange a meeting, unaware that Daejaun had already been killed.
"There were so many opportunities to have safeguarded him, protected him, and they failed him," Jodian told BBC Panorama. Social workers and police were reportedly aware that Daejaun was being criminally exploited. Shockingly, one of his killers, 17-year-old Imri Doue, was also known to authorities as a victim of child criminal exploitation.
Systemic Failures and Missed Meetings
Panorama's investigation revealed evidence that a social worker finally assigned to Daejaun's case failed to attend two crucial meetings in the weeks preceding his murder. When Jodian emailed the council expressing her desperation for help, they initially failed to reply. She only received a response after chasing them a week later.
Daejaun was stabbed twice and cut six times during the attack. He was stabbed in the leg with a so-called "zombie" knife, which severed an artery, causing him to bleed to death at the scene. Paramedics discovered drug wraps ready for sale in his underwear as they attempted to save his life.
A Descent into Exploitation
Daejaun lived in Woolwich with his mother and two brothers. His father died when he was just seven years old. Jodian noticed a change in his behaviour during his early teenage years and suspects friends from secondary school introduced him to older boys who groomed him into selling drugs.
Since his death, pictures and videos have surfaced showing Daejaun holding drugs and cash during the period he was being exploited. "Those pictures break my heart," said Jodian, "because... that's not the person I raised. He's unfamiliar to me."
Escalating Concerns and Inaction
In 2023, Jodian raised her concerns with his school, Woolwich Polytechnic for Boys. The school provided counselling for Daejaun and requested support from Greenwich Council. Jodian asked the council to move him to a safer location, but she was told he did not qualify for that level of intervention.
During this period, Daejaun would frequently go missing for days and sometimes weeks. He was also arrested for possession with intent to supply cannabis. When Greenwich Council finally accepted in 2024 that Daejaun qualified for more intensive support, the newly assigned social worker missed the critical meetings.
"I was constantly trying to contact the social services but the social worker failed to turn up to two meetings," Jodian stated. Two weeks before his murder, he went missing again. In a final, desperate act, Jodian informed social services she was prepared to relinquish her parental responsibility to secure help, but received no response.
Justice Served Too Late
Following a trial at the Old Bailey, Imri Doue, now 18, was found guilty of murder and admitted to possessing a machete. Marko Balaz, 19, was convicted of Daejaun's manslaughter and admitted to drug offences. Judge Sarah Munro KC sentenced Doue to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years and jailed Balaz for 11 years.
A Wider Pattern of Tragedy
Tragically, within weeks of Daejaun's murder, his 14-year-old friend, Kelyan Bokassa, was also murdered just over a mile away. He too had been groomed. The Metropolitan Police stated their thoughts remain with both families and emphasised their priority is "not only to bring offenders to justice but also to continue to safeguard young and vulnerable people who are at risk of being exploited through gang crime and drugs." The force noted that teenage homicides in London have fallen by three-quarters since 2021.
Greenwich Council expressed that it understands the "anger and devastation" of the parents but stated that two ongoing safeguarding reviews prevent it from commenting on the specific circumstances of the murders. The council acknowledged knife crime "is not a problem specific to Greenwich" but said it is "appalled by the violence that took place."
