Star Wars: The Force Awakens star, John Boyega was one of the last persons to see Damilola Taylor before he was stabbed to death, says Richard Taylor. Taylor, who is the father of Damilola said Boyega and his sister, Grace were very close friends to his son and attended the same school.
Speaking about how close John and his sister were to Damilola, Mr Taylor said: “Damilola and John and Grace were so close. They were looking after him when he arrived in the UK because they went to school together.”
On how John and his sister were one of the last people to see his son alive and the closeness Grace and Damilola shared, he said: “John and Grace were looking after Damilola when he arrived in the UK because they went to school together. The three of them were captured in the CCTV recording that the police used when they asked people to come forward to assist with the investigation. Grace became so close to Damilola – it was almost like boyfriend and girlfriend.”
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On how they wanted to escort Damilola home, he said: “They were the last to see him. They wanted to escort him home, but he said he was going to be OK. They left him by the junction then he went around the corner and the gang were waiting for him.”
On how happy he was to hear John Boyega had nominated the Damilola Taylor Trust to receive a donation from the film’s launch, Mr Taylor said: “I was overwhelmed. It filled me with joy.”
On how Boyega’s success makes him wonder about Damilola’s future and what he would have become, he said: “I thought: ‘Oh wow, Damilola could have been working with him as an actor. Damilola was acting in primary school – in Christmas plays, school plays, reciting poems and all that kind of thing.”
Damilola had moved to Britain from Nigeria a few months before he was stabbed in the thigh with a broken beer bottle by a gang of youths as he walked home from the local library after school.
The London schoolboy was found bleeding to death in a stairwell near his home in Peckham, south London, where local workmen tried to save his life.
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The Preddie brothers, Danny (12) and Ricky (13) were convicted of the murder six years after the crime was committed. happened. At the time, their victim, Damilola was 10 and a few days to celebrating his 11th birthday. He was walking home from primary school in south London when his life was cut short by the two brothers.
