JORDAN BURTON JAILED FOR MURDER OVER FATAL 2006 ATTACK

Jordan Burton has been convicted of murdering Daniel Allright, who died more than 15 years after Burton attacked him in Lewisham, south-east London. The Old Bailey heard that Burton, then 14, struck Allright with a piece of wood in September 2006, while two others hit him with weapons, including a bicycle chain. Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said Allright suffered his first epileptic seizure in March 2007, and that his epilepsy worsened before he died, aged 31, at home on 26 March 2022. A post-mortem examination found no evidence of drowning or natural disease, and attributed his death to post-traumatic epilepsy caused by the earlier head injury.

Prosecutors said Allright had been riding his bicycle with two friends from Oscar Street when a group of males tried to rob them in Friendly Gardens. Burton, identified by Allright as a black male in the group, asked him if he wanted to fight before being handed the piece of wood, the prosecution said. The attackers fled only after someone emerged from a nearby shop and told them to stop. Burton initially denied involvement but pleaded guilty in 2008 to violent disorder and unlawful wounding.

Burton, of Achilles Street, Lewisham, denied wrongdoing at his murder trial and told jurors he had been pressured into his 2008 admission. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 10 years. In a statement, Allright's mother, Geraldine Henderson, said her son had "a heart of gold" and "a positive attitude to life". She said he was "never bitter or angry about his situation", adding that she was "very proud" of his achievements and had watched him suffer thousands of seizures over 16 years since the attack.