Two teenagers have been sentenced for the machete attack that killed 15-year-old Daejaun Campbell in southeast London following a six-week trial at the Old Bailey, in which Imri Doue was convicted of murder and Marko Balaz was found guilty of manslaughter for their roles in the fatal stabbing.

Imri Doue, now aged 18, was 17 at the time of the attack and received a minimum prison term of 21 years. Balaz, aged 19 and from Abbey Wood, was handed a sentence carrying a minimum term of 11 years.

Daejaun cried out,

“I’m 15, don’t let me die”,

As he was ambushed in Woolwich on 22 September of the previous year, according to the court. He sustained two fatal stab wounds and six superficial cuts and later died from his injuries.

Daejaun’s mother, Jodian Taylor, said:

“My biggest fear was to get that phone call that he was hurt. Instead, I am living my worst nightmare, that he is no longer here."

"He just died on the side of the road like a dog.”

She added that his death “could have been prevented” had authorities heeded her concerns.

She described her son as an “intelligent”, “fun” and “witty” teenager. She expressed the view that he had been a victim of grooming and suggested that he may have been exploited to sell drugs in the local area.

Ms Taylor said she had noticed behavioural changes in Daejaun before his death and raised concerns with his school and social services. At times she even sought to relinquish parental responsibility hoping that the authorities would intervene. She said:

“I never thought I would have to make the call to ask for him to be removed. I never kept my son’s behaviour a secret."

She complained that her concerns were repeatedly dismissed by professionals who told her he “didn’t meet the threshold”. She said she only got responses to her pleas for help the day after his death.

“The focus should be more around prevention,” she said.

She continued:

“When I was asking for all the help to prevent what happened to my baby, that wasn’t given. But in his passing, I’ve had all these professionals coming to me now, offering me all the help. I am thinking, what’s the point now?”

Despite the convictions, Ms Taylor said she did not feel justice had been fully served.

“The justice that they tell me I am going to get is not enough. Because the people who groomed him still get to live their [lives] as though everything is okay,” she said.

“They get to groom other people’s children to do their dirty work, and I get to sit here trying to figure out how I am going to live with this pain.”

Detectives investigating the unprovoked attack said that no clear motive was established. They believe that Daejaun may have been on Eglinton Road on the day of the attack because of exploitation connected with drug dealing in the area, though that has not been confirmed.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich said Daejaun’s death “stunned our borough”. It stated that it could not comment in detail while an independent child safeguarding review is under way by a multi-agency board. That review will examine the circumstances that led to his tragic death, how those deaths were handled, and what changes could or should be made.

Whenever something serious happens to a child under a council’s care there is a requirement for review of the acting agencies’ decisions and interventions, including whether appropriate safeguarding measures were applied and how partners worked together. In this case the review is independent and involves Daejaun’s family. The council said it expected the review to conclude later this year.