Man Jailed for Latchmere Road Stabbing
Jerome Bailey imprisoned for life for killing his cousin
Jerome Bailey
April 12, 2022
A forty year old man has received a life sentence for stabbing his cousin to death in Battersea in 2019.
Jerome Bailey, of Victor Road, Teddington, had been found guilty at Croydon Crown Court at a trial which concluded in January 2020 but it was only earlier this month when he was finally sentenced.
He will serve a minimum of 18 years.
The motive for the fatal attack was never revealed but the jury at Bailey’s trial was told that he had arranged to meet 40-year-old Tesfa Campbell in Battersea on Wednesday, 3 July 2019.
At around 2.45pm he inflicted the wound on his relative that was eventually to prove fatal by stabbing him in the abdomen. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, members of the public rushed to Mr Campbell’s aid but despite their efforts and those of the attending emergency services, he succumbed to his injuries later in hospital.
Tesfa Campbell
A murder investigation was launched and detectives quickly identified Bailey as the perpetrator thanks to CCTV recovered from the area.
The showed the two men, Tesfa Campbell and Bailey, walking down Burns Road, toward Latchmere Road, just two minutes before Mr Campbell was stabbed. In the footage, Mr Campbell is seen carrying a large, bright yellow, drawstring bag, which was no longer in his possession when he collapsed. Bailey was later caught on CCTV walking away from the scene carrying the distinctive yellow bag.
Four days later on Sunday, 7 July 2019 officers arrested Bailey in Teddington. When police searched the address, two yellow plastic drawstring bags of exactly the same kind as the one which had been taken from Mr Campbell were found in the back garden. Police also discovered the Oyster card that Bailey used to make his journey from Teddington to Battersea in the bottom of one of those yellow bags.
The court heard how the cousins had once been close, with Mr Campbell often having been willing in the past to help Bailey out, for example by lending him money. However, this had recently begun to change with Mr Campbell telling other family members he “had reached the point where he was going to cut him [Bailey] off.”
Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie who leads one of the Met’s murder investigation teams said, “I am pleased that Jerome Bailey has finally been sentenced for this horrific attack on Tesfa Campbell.
“The delays in concluding this case have extended the pain that Tesfa’s family and friends have had to endure but I can only hope that this 18-year prison sentence helps them all in some way.
“Bailey has never confirmed why this meeting between the two cousins ended with Tesfa losing his life at the hands of another family member. However, it is clear that Bailey’s violent attack had devastating consequences which will continue to have an impact on many people’s lives for years to come.”