As her son’s murderer was given a life term in jail, a mother whose 14-year-old son was slain in a knife assault made an emotive appeal for action to combat knife crime. After more than a year of advocacy by Cools’ family, he was ultimately charged with a crime and given a 19-year prison term.
Jermaine Cools was fatally stabbed.
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On November 18, 2021, Jermaine Cools was stabbed with a machete in Croydon, south London. Marques Walker, 16, is seen assaulting before leaving the scene in a police-released video that was taken during the altercation.
Tragically, Jermaine was unarmed when he was attacked and was the youngest victim of a knife assault in London that year. Marques Walker attacked Cools viciously and senselessly, stabbing him seven times.
The case’s judge, Sarah Munro KC, called the incident “extremely vicious” and said that the 14-year-old victim had been viciously abused by Walker. She said that Jermaine must have been afraid and in excruciating pain during the assault.
Jermaine’s mother, Lorraine Dudek, voiced her displeasure and annoyance at the lack of action taken to address Marques Walker’s habit of carrying a knife, calling it a “missed opportunity.”
She thinks Walker wouldn’t have been able to conduct such a horrific act if the problem had been resolved sooner.
According to Dudek, if young men are found in possession of a knife, the weapon may be seized, but they can often buy another knife quickly via social media sites like Snapchat. Her remarks underscore the difficulties in combating knife crime and the need for practical measures that go beyond seizing weapons.
Before becoming a victim, Cools had voiced worries to his parents about knife crime. A bystander transported him to the Mayday Hospital after he was stabbed in the chest, but he tragically did not recover from his wounds.
Arrested and accused of murder is Marques Walker
Teenager Marques Walker received a life sentence for the murder of Jermaine, a 14-year-old who was the youngest victim of a deadly knife crime in 2021. Jermaine Cools, 14, was stabbed by Marques Walker on November 18, 2021, while he lay on the ground outside a chicken restaurant in south London. At the time, Walker was 16 years old. Walker was on bond for six weeks before stabbing Cools, and it was made known during his trial that he was carrying a huge knife at the time of the murder.
Despite first asserting his innocence, he later admitted to killing Jermaine and having a knife in his possession. After a successful legal appeal by the media, Walker’s punishment was televised in Wales and England.
Jermaine’s horrific death had an “immeasurable” effect, according to the judge, Sarah Munro KC, and he was a “defenseless” victim. The stabber has been given a life sentence, which will be reduced by the time he had previously served in jail and include at least 19 years in prison.
After the murder, he evaded capture for six weeks until being accidentally discovered during a different search. The court said Walker constituted a danger to the public due to his recurrent possession of blades.
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