Jodie Chesney murder: Friend describes ‘screaming, panic and hysteria’ as teenager was stabbed to death

‘Jodie screamed because of the pain and we were all confused by what was going on’

Jodie Chesney’s friend has described the “panic and hysteria” which broke out after the 17-year-old was fatally knifed in the back.

The popular A-level student was sitting on a park bench in Harold Hill, Romford, east London on March 1, when she was attacked.

It is thought she was the accidental target of drug dealers who had been bypassed by her friends when they bought cannabis from a rival.

At the trial for the four accused of the teenager’s murder, Kasey Hendersen, 18, has told jurors that the stabbing was “completely unexpected” and happened “very fast”.

The teen said he was at Amy’s Park after bumping into his twin brother, Bryce, Jodie and her boyfriend, Eddie Coyle, at Romford railway station.

He said they had planned to pick up some cannabis and smoke it in the park. His brother made the call to the dealer who was going to deliver the drug.

Mr Henderson recalled seeing two males coming into the park and hearing a commotion. At first, he thought they had stolen his bag.

“It sounded like ripping of fabric and I thought I had heard a piece of metal or something. I was not sure what it was. I thought it was my bag strap getting caught on the bench,” he told the court.

But when he looked, Mr Henderson said his bag was still on the bench.

“I was kind of confused and that’s when a lot of the panic and hysteria started between all of us.

“Jodie screamed because of the pain and we were all confused by what was going on before we figured it out.”

The teenager described how Mr Coyle said his girlfriend had been stabbed.

“I cannot remember the exact words. All I know is he was telling me she had been stabbed.”

People visit the site near where 17-year-old Jodie Chesney was stabbed to death in Harold Hill, east London, on 1 March 2019. (Reuters)

Mr Henderson ran to his friend James Doyle’s house to get help.

“I was in shock but I knew that James’s stepdad went to help but I did not feel like I could go back. I was just terrified.

“James gave me a glass of water and I stayed there but I could not really hold it because my hands were shaking.”

The four alleged drug dealers who are on trial for Jodie’s murder – Manuel Petrovic, 20; Svenson Ong-a-kwie, 19; and two youths, aged 16 and 17, from Barking and Romford, who are too young to be named – have all denied the charges.

The trial continues.

Additional reporting by PA