The mother of an innocent NHS worker who was stabbed to death by a machete-wielding gang in East London has said she is “paralysed by grief”.
David Gomoh was stabbed 10 times by four members of an East London gang in a random and unprovoked attack in Newham on April 26 last year.
The marketing graduate, who had been working in procurement for the NHS during the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, was brutally murdered by members of the Northside Newham gang despite having nothing to do with gang violence.
READ MORE: ‘Evil’ East London gang stabbed ‘innocent’ NHS worker to death in random machete attack
David Ture, 19, Vagnei Colubali, 22, Muhammad Jalloh, 19, and Alex Melaku, 18, were all jailed for murder at the Old Bailey on Friday (September 17).
At the sentencing hearing, the court heard victim impact statements from David’s mother and sister, who described the heartache of his death following the passing of his father just 20 days earlier.
Muhammad Jalloh, 19, Vegnei Colubali, 23, and David Ture, 19 have been jailed
(Image: Met Police)
His mother, Marian, said: “I remember hearing those dreaded words no mother wants to hear. I feel numb and paralysed by grief and pain. He had so much to live for. We were in the process of planning his father’s funeral and his body was in the mortuary when David was killed.
“The pain he suffered will haunt me for the rest of my life. I am haunted by recurring nightmares about the horror. I am having sleepless nights knowing the extent to which he was senselessly killed.
“They [the gang] have wrecked our family and their own families. As a mother, how do you come to terms with a stranger committing such an evil act on your child? I will never feel his hugs and kisses or hear his laugh. I miss him so much; the sense of loss is unbearable. You will never be forgotten.”
Alex Melaku turned 18 the day before being jailed for life
(Image: Metropolitan Police)
David’s sister, Lizzie, told of how remorseless the four men were regarding the murder.
She recalled the family being laughed at during the six-week trial at the Old Bailey and hoped they will “eventually show remorse” over her brother’s killing.
Lizzie added: “He was a fun-loving and amazing brother. He had just started his life and it was brutally and senselessly taken. I feel sick as soon as I think about them [the defendants] and I get angry that they thought they had any right to end his life and laugh at us during the trial.
“I felt numb, sick and confused. Since that day, I have struggled to come to terms with everything. Seeing your bloody body will forever haunt and traumatise me. The moment you shouted and screamed out in pain. I became numb while neighbours were trying to console us.
“I find it difficult to see you lying beside dad in a graveyard. I would rather be sick than accept and forgive. It is only the memories of you that we hold on to. I hate that it has been more than a year, but it still feels fresh.”
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The Old Bailey heard how David had been chosen at random by members of the gang in order to send a message to their rivals.
They met at a hotel in Stratford, before travelling to Stratford in a minicab armed with “Rambo-type machetes”.
David was chased and stabbed repeatedly before stumbling to his home a short distance away.
Emergency services rushed to the scene as neighbours tried desperately to give David life-saving first aid in front of his haunted family, but he died at the scene.
Jalloh, of Watt Street, Wapping, had eight previous convictions for 12 offences including robbery and possession of a weapon.
He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years.
Colubali, of Suffolk Road, Enfield, had five previous convictions for 12 offences.
He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years.
Ture, of Bloomsbury Street, Camden, had five previous convictions for 12 offences and was sentenced to life with a minimum prison term of 26 years.
Melaku, of Telford, Shropshire, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years.
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https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/mother-nhs-worker-24paralysed-grief-21622777
