Ben Hitchcock

Ben Hitchcock was stabbed in the back in a fight.

Four people were tried for his murder but all were acquitted.

Ben Hitchcock was a member of the Penge Block gang (Penge Boys gang) and they had gate-crashed a party on Copers Cope Road where members of a rival Lewisham gang, the Blue Borough gang, were attending.

The tone of the party became tense and the police were called and broke up the party.

A fight involving up to 60 youths then followed during which Ben Hitchcock was stabbed in the back. The stab wound punctured his kidney.  He was taken to Lewisham Hospital but died later the next morning.

The fight was described as a pitched battle. Weapons included weights taken from the party and broken bits of fencing.

One of the men on trial was said to have shouted out 'You're dead'.

The court heard that Ben Hitchcock became surrounded and said 'What have I done? Why are you doing this to me?' before letting out a scream. A witness said that he had seen one of the men on trial then take out a knife and stab Ben Hitchcock three times. Another man on trial was then said to have been seen hitting Ben Hitchcock with a baseball bat. Ben Hitchcock was then seen to become pale and as he lay dead or dying people were heard to boast about being responsible for his murder.

The youths then ran away and one was heard to shout 'Duck out, I just killed the boy.'.

Someone else was heard to have shouted 'We stabbed up your white boy.' referring to the fact that Ben Hitchcock was the only white boy in the Penge Block gang. He had been wearing white clothes that was said to have made him look rude at the party and stand out.