A jury at the Central Criminal Court this afternoon took just three hours of deliberation to find an unnamed teenager guilty of the December 2021 murder of Zaian Aimable-Lina in Ashburton Park.
Murder verdict: sentencing in the case will take place at the Old Bailey next month
Both the victim and his attacker were 15 years old at the time of the murder.
Aimable-Lina was stabbed three times, including in the heart.
His assailant, now 17 but who cannot be identified because he is under 18, was also found guilty of possession of an article with a blade.
Aimable-Lina was one of five Croydon teenagers who were murdered on the streets of Croydon in 2021, the most murdered teenagers of any London borough that year. The youngest victim was 14.
During the course of the trial at the Old Bailey the jury heard how Aimable-Lina was chased through the park by the defendant and was found by his friends lying on the ground.
Victim: Zaian Aimable-Lina
Aimable-Lina had three “significant” knife wounds: one to the left elbow which nicked the bone; a two-inch-deep wound to the lower back; and a five-inch-deep injury to the chest that punctured his heart and lung, causing “massive blood loss”.
His friends flagged down a passing police car, but despite the efforts of an ambulance crew, he was pronounced dead soon after.
Sentencing in the case was adjourned until May 26.
Read more: Perry passes knife crime responsibility to community groups
- Inside Croydon – as seen on TV! – has been delivering local community news since 2010. 3million page views per year in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
- If you want real journalism, actually based in the borough, you should consider paying for it. Please sign up today. Click here for more details
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
