Teenager jailed following death of young woman

A teenager has been jailed for the manslaughter of a young woman on Christmas Eve.

The then 16-year-old male was found guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday, 26 July of the manslaughter of Kacey Clarke at her home in Bermondsey.

On Friday, 1 November, the now 17-year-old was sentenced at the same court to six-and-a-half-years' imprisonment.

Detective Inspector Adam Clifton was one of the senior investigators who investigated the death. He said: “Through a thorough investigation we were able to disprove many assertions made about Kacey, leading to the jury rejecting the defendant’s claim to have been acting in self-defence. I am pleased that we have been able to secure justice for her.

"Reducing violence against women and girls remains a key priority for the Met and I would urge anyone who is suffering abuse to reach out for help.”

Police had been called at 22:03hrs on 24 December 2023 to reports of a stabbing at a flat on Jamaica Road, SE16.

Officers attended along with paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance. They provided emergency first aid to 22-year-old Kacey Clarke, however she sadly died at the scene.

The subsequent post-mortem examination gave cause of death as a single sharp force trauma to the chest.

The youth was arrested near to the scene by police officers responding to the incident. He was known to Kacey but he cannot be named due to his age.

When questioned by police, the youth claimed that Kacey was the aggressor and had confronted him with a knife.

Some three weeks later, workmen found a blood-stained knife in nearby Rail Sidings Road. This was recovered and forensic examination found it to be stained with Kacey’s blood.