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Islington Gazette - Grieving family's emotional plea

Grieving family's emotional pleanlnews@archant.co.uk30 June 2008The grieving Kinsella family (left to right) BenThe grieving Kinsella family (left to right) Ben's sisters Brooke, Georgia, Jade, mum Deborah and dad GeorgeTHE GRIEVING family of murdered teenager Ben Kinsella today made an emotional plea to teenagers to lay down their arms.The 16-year-old Holloway School pupil was knifed to death by a gang of four youths at 2am on Sunday at the junction of York Way and North Road, Holloway, after a fight spilled out of the nearby Shillibeers pub.Today (Monday), Ben's mum Deborah, 46, dad, George, 48 and sisters, Georgia, 14, Jade, 22, and former EastEnders star Brooke, 24, paid tribute to their beloved son and brother and called for an end to the violence.In a statement read out by Brooke - who plated Kelly Taylor in the soap - the family, from Lonsdale Square, Barnsbury, said: "Yesterday we tragically lost not only a beautiful son and brother, but a true angel."Ben really was one of the kindest, gentlest and talented boys God has ever created. He had a heart of gold, and the love and joy he gave to everybody is proven by the vast number of people who have sent their condolences and prayers."We thank each and every one of you for supporting us through this difficult time."As reported, Ben was the 17th teenager to be killed in London this year. Our hearts go out to every family who has also suffered this awful tragedy and now is truly the time to stand up and put an end to this."Please, please let us learn from Ben and every other child that has been stolen from us."We always knew that Ben would make a special mark in this world, although this is in the worst possible circumstances. Hopefully he will be the one that finally puts an end to this."My family are determined to fight in his memory to make the streets safer for our children."Please, boys and girls, put down your knives and weapons and think about the pain and suffering they will cause."Parents, please talk to your children and encourage them to stop all this violence."Please can we waste no more time and come together as a country, to ensure that no other lives are wasted."We thank you for all your support and now request that you give us some time and privacy to grieve for our beautiful Ben."A post mortem carried out today at St Pancras Mortuary gave the cause of Ben's death as multiple stab wounds and detectives confirmed that a fingertip search of the are recovered two knives, although it is unclear whether they are the murder weapons.They also revealed they are looking for four black males aged around 17 or 18 in connection with the incident, but say there is nothing to suggest the attack was racially motivated or gang related.Detective Superintendent Vic Rae of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command said: "We know there was a disturbance inside Shillibeers nightclub and this disturbance spilled out into North Road."How Ben got sucked into this disturbance is unclear but it climaxed at the junction with York Way with his tragic and fatal stabbing."We believe there were a number of people inside the club and outside in the street and are appealing for witnesses to come forward. We need those people to contact us with any information they may have. Ben's death is a meaningless waste of life."Anyone with information should call the incident room on 0208 345 3985 or anonymously Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.Two youths arrested shortly after Ben was stabbed have been bailed until mid August pending further investigations
Islington Gazette - Grieving family's emotional plea

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