Two teenagers convicted of stabbing man to death in Lewisham

Two teenagers have been convicted of savagely stabbing a young man to death as he ran for his life following a dispute between feuding families.

Ryan Wedderburn, 18 (29.05.06) of Windlass Place, Lewisham, and Kirk Harris, 19 (29.03.06) of Upper Brockley Road, Lewisham, were convicted on Tuesday, 13 May of the murder of 21-year-old Robert Robinson following a trial at the Old Bailey.

They will all be sentenced at the same court on Thursday, 15 May.

Detective Inspector Neil Tovey from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, who led the investigation, said: “I am pleased that we have today secured justice for the family and friends of Robert. He was stabbed to death in a brutal attack in a residential road when numerous families would have been home. Robert was a young man who had his whole life ahead of him, it was instead taken away by Wedderburn and Harris in a senseless attack. Robert tried to run for his life, but was chased down and viciously attacked.

“This was a cowardly attack on Robert, who was outnumbered and unarmed. His family listened to the details of the attack and watched the CCTV of Robert’s last moments. They also heard the evidence from Wedderburn and Harris where they attempted to justify their actions. I am pleased that the jury agreed with the evidence we presented to the court to prove their guilt. I would like to pay tribute to the dignity that Robert’s family and friends have shown throughout the trial.”

Police were called at about 22:35hrs on Thursday, 6 June 2024 to reports of a stabbing in Carteret Way, SE8. Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended but despite their best efforts the victim, later identified as Robert, sadly died at the scene.

He had suffered 12 serious stab wounds, including injuries indicating he tried to defend himself from the attackers.

The court heard that on 6 June 2024, Robert had been with some friends who lived near Wedderburn. Those friends and the Wedderburn family had been close friends until October 2022 when they had a falling out. Tensions had been brewing since that time, with it coming to a head on 6 June 2024.

Earlier that day, one of Robert’s friends allegedly had his bike stolen by a man who was known to be friends with Wedderburn.

The victim wanted to get his bike back, so the friends, Robert and a group went to Wedderburn’s house hoping they would find the bike and the person who stole it. There was no answer, so the group eventually left the address. Some of the group then allegedly damaged two cars belonging to the Wedderburn family.

Shortly afterwards, Wedderburn and Harris left the property in Windlass Place armed with knives and walked to nearby Carteret Way, SE8.

When the defendants arrived at the property in Carteret Way, one of the friends, their mother and Robert spotted them approaching with the knives and ran away. The friend’s mother was on the phone to 999 at the time, reporting the earlier theft of the bike and her son being threatened. Robert was chased and overpowered by Wedderburn and Harris who carried out a savage attack on him.

Wedderburn and Harris then fled on foot and got into a waiting pre-arranged taxi, which was booked by a friend who was acquitted by the jury of perverting the course of justice.

Officers quickly arrived and Wedderburn was named by witnesses as being one of those involved. A 44-year-old man was arrested near the scene shortly afterwards on suspicion of murder. He was acquitted by the jury.

Knowing they were wanted, Harris and Wedderburn handed themselves into the police on 17 June and 19 June 2024 respectively.

Detectives tirelessly scoured CCTV from the area, which clearly showed not only the attack but the defendants being at the scene. The defendants were tracked from the scene and CCTV footage showed they had discarded clothing and weapons. This led to searches of the Thames which recovered clothing worn during the attack and some of the murder weapons.

The defendants admitted their presence and all gave evidence in their defence attempting to justify their actions on the day. Both Wedderburn and Harris admitted to stabbing Robert with Wedderburn claiming self-defence and Harris claiming he did not intend to cause serious harm.

However, CCTV captured Wedderburn and Harris arming themselves with knives and running along the corridor of the building before turning back and arranging for a cab to be booked, in which they later fled the scene.

This evidence led to the defendants being charged and convicted as above.

+ An 18-year-old man is due to stand trial in January 2026 charged with Robert’s murder. A 23-year-old man is due to stand trial in October 2026, charged with perverting the course of justice.