Three teenagers have been handed custodial sentences for the callous murder of a 51-year-old man, after a court was shown a chilling meme they shared in the aftermath of the killing.
A Vicious Attack and Callous Aftermath
Anthony Marks, who was believed to be homeless, was subjected to a sustained and brutal assault in the early hours of Saturday, 10 August 2024, near King's Cross Station. The attack was carried out by Jaidee Bingham, then 16, and two teenage girls, Eymaiyah Lee Bradshaw-McKoy, then 16, and Mia Campos-Jorge, then 17.
The court heard that the group, who had recently begun working for a county lines drug operation, confronted Mr Marks after suspecting he had knowledge of a robbery against one of them. CCTV evidence showed the victim being hit with a car bonnet, chased, stamped on, and beaten over the head with a glass gin bottle. A member of the public armed with a cricket bat eventually chased the attackers away.
Police found Mr Marks with serious injuries to his face and arms at around 5.25am. Tragically, he later died from his wounds.
Selfies, Messages and a Damning Meme
Following the murder, the teenagers' behaviour demonstrated a shocking lack of remorse. They posed for photographs and selfies together, both before and after the fatal incident. Their mobile phones, seized after arrests across London, provided damning evidence.
Most notably, investigators discovered a sick meme sent by Bradshaw-McKoy after the attack. The image showed two men in orange prison overalls, accompanied by the message: "Us if we don't lay low." This communication, along with other messages and video footage placing them at an apartment near the scene, helped cement the case against them.
Sentences Handed Down at Court
At sentencing, Judge Mark Dennis KC described the murder as a "particularly callous" act that highlighted the ruthlessness of county lines gangs. He noted that Bingham had escalated the violence by choosing to use the gin bottle, inflicting fatal injuries within seconds.
Jaidee Bingham, known as 'Ghost', received a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years. Eymaiyah Lee Bradshaw-McKoy was sentenced to 47 months in custody, while Mia Campos-Jorge received a 42-month custodial term.
Detective Inspector Jim Barry of the Met's Specialist Crime North, who led the investigation, stated: "They believed they had escaped justice, even posing for selfies together and laughing about what they had done. There is a sense of justice that officers were able to use these to place them at the scene of the crime." He emphasised that their young ages did not excuse their violent actions as part of a drug line bringing fear to London's streets.
