A teenage drug dealer operating under the alias 'Ghost' and a girl gang have been handed prison sentences for the murder of a homeless man, in a case where the perpetrators chillingly documented their violence with selfies and videos.
The Vicious Attack and Missed Opportunities
On Saturday, 10 August 2024, at around 05:25am, Metropolitan Police officers discovered 51-year-old Anthony Marks with severe facial and arm injuries near the main concourse of King’s Cross Station. He had been assaulted in a brutal county lines retribution attack, hit with a car bonnet, chased, stamped on, and beaten with a gin bottle.
The court heard the attack stemmed from a dispute over stolen crack cocaine. Mr Marks had been confronted by the dealer, 'Ghost' – later identified as 18-year-old Jaidee Bingham – who accused him of knowing who had robbed one of his subsidiary girls, the 'runners'. These runners were Mia Campos-Jorge, 19, and Eymaiyah Lee Bradshaw-McKoy, 18.
Despite being taken to St Mary’s Hospital, a critical series of failures followed. Mr Marks was identified as subject to recall to prison for a licence breach and was transferred into custody on 13 August. While in prison, he complained of headaches and slurred speech but was not referred for a further brain scan. On 29 August, he suffered a seizure, was rushed to King’s College Hospital, and underwent emergency surgery to remove a blood clot.
Selfies, Sentencing, and the Path to a Fatal Outcome
In a damning twist, the teenagers took selfies and videos both before and after the violent assault, which were later used as evidence. Prosecutor Hugh Davies KC stated that while there were missed medical opportunities, the assault and resulting brain haematoma "more than minimally contributed" to Mr Marks's death.
Medics at King’s College Hospital made a clinical decision to withdraw care in the absence of a next of kin to consult. Anthony Marks died on 14 September 2024, with the cause of death confirmed as bleeding on the brain caused by the attack five weeks prior.
After a trial and 47 hours of jury deliberation, Jaidee Bingham of Dagenham was found guilty of murder. Judge Mark Dennis KC handed her a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years. Bradshaw-McKoy of Brixton and Campos-Jorge of Tottenham were cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter, receiving custodial sentences of 47 months and 42 months respectively.
A Harrowing Case of Youth Violence and Retribution
The prosecution outlined the clear motivation for the attack: a perceived need for retribution after one of the gang's drug runners was robbed. This violent enforcement is a hallmark of county lines operations.
Judge Dennis emphasised that the "cycle of events" leading to Mr Marks's death would not have occurred without the initial assault. The case highlights not only the extreme violence associated with drug networks but also the disturbing modern phenomenon of criminals recording their acts, and the tragic consequences of systemic failures in following up on serious head injuries.
