Stephen Lawrence’s good friend says he might have recognized sixth homicide suspect
T
he greatest good friend of Stephen Lawrence stated he might have recognized the sixth suspect in a line-up if he was given the chance and has accused police of sabotaging the investigation.
Duwayne Brooks was there when 5 – 6 individuals attacked and killed Lawrence in Eltham, south-east London in April 1993.
Mr Brooks instructed the Sunday Mirror he would have picked out the now-dead Matthew White in a lineup.
White was revealed because the sixth suspect within the homicide in an investigation by the BBC a month in the past.
“If they had put him in an ID parade in front of me at the time I would have picked him out 100%,” Mr Brooks stated.
“There’s no doubt and I’m extremely confident other people at the bus stop would have picked him out and this case would have been solved then.”
White was first arrested over the homicide in March 2000 and once more in December 2013 however, on each events, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) suggested there was no lifelike prospect of conviction for any offence, the Metropolitan Police stated.
Mr Brooks stated he believes police treating White as a witness and never a suspect was “deliberate” so White wouldn’t should face the ID parade.
“I believe the investigation team were corrupt and made decisions they knew would be fatal to the investigation,” Mr Brooks added.
“Matthew White was placed in the witness bracket when he should have been a suspect. I took part in three or four ID parades and they brought before me every man and his dog, and cat and rat and mouse and hamster.
“But this guy was never put before me. It was a deliberate act of sabotage. He died without having faced court. It’s disappointing. He should have been brought before a jury.”
It comes because the mom of Stephen Lawrence expressed fury that no law enforcement officials confronted motion over the dealing with of details about a sixth suspect in her son’s homicide.
Doreen Lawrence stated the person accused of main the group of attackers in the direction of her son averted seize due to failings by police.
“What is infuriating about this latest revelation is that the man who is said to have led the murderous attack on my son has evaded justice because of police failures and yet not a single police officer has faced or will ever face action,” Ms Lawrence stated.
Two males have been convicted of the homicide – Gary Dobson and David Norris – and had been jailed for all times in 2012.
Other than White, the three remaining suspects are brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, who’ve since served jail time for drug dealing, and Luke Knight, who has remained free.
A press release from Met Police stated: “White first came to our attention as a witness in 1993. He was arrested and interviewed in March 2000 and in December 2013 and a file submitted to prosecutors in May 2005 and October 2014.
“On both occasions the CPS advised there was no realistic prospect of conviction of White for any offence.
“In February 2020, White was spoken to again. There was insufficient witness or forensic evidence to progress.”