A year on from Eddie Kinuthia’s murder: renewed appeal

There is 1 related update to this story

• 20 January 2024: Family fighting for justice for Eddie Kinuthia

It is a year since Eddie King Muthemba Kinuthia was fatally stabbed in Bristol.

As his family and friends prepare to mark the anniversary of his loss we’re renewing our plea for help to get justice.

Eddie was just 19 when he was attacked in Grosvenor Road, St Paul’s, just before 11pm on Friday 21 July 2023.

Within weeks, three men were arrested on suspicion of his murder, but no one has been charged yet. A magistrate has extended the bail of two of the men, while a third remains under investigation.

Officers from the Major Crime Investigation Team remain dedicated to this complex investigation, led by Detective Chief Inspector Mark Almond.

A review of hundreds of hours of CCTV footage suggests there were around 150 people in the area at the time – but only a third have come forward or been traced so far.

Were you there that night? Even if you don’t believe you saw anything which could help, detectives need to speak with you.

DCI Almond said: “There were so many people in and around Grosvenor Road that night. Any one of them may have that final bit of information which could bring Eddie’s killers to court.

“We’re so grateful to everyone we have spoken with so far. We are acting on that information. However, to get a charge we need to have evidence which will be able to convince a jury beyond all reasonable doubt. We’re in touch with the Crown Prosecution Service to make sure we have a case which is strong enough to do that. To get to court it must be able to stand up to challenge from the defence and have more than a 50 per cent chance of conviction.

“We are not giving up on Eddie and we want to get the answers that Irene and Eddie’s family so badly need. There are people who can help. Please come forward.”

DCI Almond said his team has experience in supporting people who have witnessed traumatic events. He added that victim and witness care teams support people through court hearings, with some witnesses able to give evidence from behind a screen or over a video link.

Eddie’s family’s grief

Specialist officers are still working to support Eddie’s family in their loss as they face this tragic milestone.

Eddie’s mother, Irene Muthemba, said: “You just have to learn to get up every morning and choose to try. Cos I’ve got two other kids and they need me. It’s been really tough learning … to not have that feeling like you want to give up. It’s a tough journey. I think it’s only possible because I am surrounded by family, supportive family and friends … That’s how you get through it. Through support and through just trying every day.”

Jade Morris, Eddie’s auntie, said: “Just talking about Eddie in the past tense is so difficult, it’s so painful. Our life’s never going to be the same again. We’re always going to be those people who lost their son, their nephew, their cousin.

“My kids are devastated. My daughter, it was her birthday last week and it was her first birthday without him. She almost didn’t want to celebrate, because he’s not going to be around. Some people they go through life without having to deal with something like this. The first time they lose someone it’s probably their grandma, when they are adults themselves. But to watch my eight-year-old daughter or my other nephew who is nine going to the cemetery as if it’s a normal thing to do is just so painful.

“I just can’t believe it. Every day I wake up and the first thing I think about when I’m brushing my teeth is that he’s not going to brush his teeth, he’s not going to wake up and get ready for his day. It feels unreal. My brain cannot comprehend that Eddie’s not coming home. He’s not gonna wake up. I can’t process it.”

Irene explained the impact of not yet having justice: “It’s helpless, it’s hopeless, it’s frustrating. I’m just clutching at anything really with the hope that it’s not going to take forever to find who did this. And I think I put so much on the fact that these people who did this also have families.

“Surely somebody would know? I’m going over it in my head every time when I think about my child and what it feels like to miss him and to miss his smile and to miss his laughter, miss his voice. And I just think somewhere on the opposite of that there’s a mum or a parent who knows that their child was involved in this.”

Plea for witnesses

Irene made a plea to people to speak to the police: “On that day there were so many people by the park that night and I know a lot of these people haven’t come forward, because they’re like, well it’s got nothing to do with me, I don’t have anything to say that would be of value: but how do you know? Any information even what you think is not relevant could be. Just do it.

“If you were there, and you know that the police have been appealing for a year for you to come out – it’s perhaps maybe an hour in your day to help solve a case. Why won’t you do it? Why wouldn’t you want to do that? That’s the thing that I think about.

“Because I should think that if I was in the other side of that I would come and I would say I was there, even if what I saw is not going to solve anything, but at least I have, it’s eliminated. We’ve made that clear that yes you saw Eddie perhaps, you saw him dancing or laughing with his friends but you didn’t see what happened, but at least you came. You know?”

Hope for justice

Irene believes she will see justice for Eddie: “I’m never giving up on hope. It’s just something that my heart won’t do. I can’t give up. I trust the team that’s investigating this. Even though we’ve had our issues and frustrations about how long it’s taken and the pace of the investigation I trust that they are doing the best they can do. And I just wait eagerly for the day that I can hear them tell me that we have something. That’s the day I wait for and I’m hopeful, I really am.”