Boy, 13, charged with murder of builder who was stabbed to death outside flats in Edmonton after ‘verbal altercation’ 

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A 13-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of a builder after a 'verbal altercation' outside the block of flats in Edmonton where the victim lived.

Christopher John Barry, known as Jack, was stabbed on Sunday evening after he was said to be involved in an incident with a group of youths trying to get into a party at another address.

He bled to death on the doorstep of his home. 

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Bled to death: Jack Barry, 53, was killed in front of his horrified partner Sabrina Finn, 35, on Sunday evening

The attack happened as council worker Miss Finn and Mr Barry returned home, shortly before 8pm on Sunday. Their flat is in a modern block, a stone’s throw from Edmonton Green railway station

The boy has been remanded in custody to appear at Highbury Corner Youth Court tomorrow charged with murder, Scotland Yard said.

Four more boys - three aged 14 and one 13 - were also arrested on suspicion of murder. They must return to an east London police station on a date in late January pending further inquiries, Scotland Yard has said.

A post-mortem examination yesterday found the cause of Mr Barry's death was a stab wound to the chest.

He was with his girlfriend when he is believed to have been involved in an argument with a group of boys as he tried to get through the front door to the flats in The Broadway.

Police said he was followed in by two boys and stabbed. Ambulance crews attended but he was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before 8.40pm on Sunday. 

Forensic officers are at the scene where the man was attacked after reportedly getting into an argument

Mackenzie Muzengi, 61, comforted Jack’s distraught girlfriend, his neighbour Sabrina Finn, 35, as paramedics fought in vain to save the victim’s life.

Speaking last night, he said the murder had sent shockwaves through the area and left some residents scared to leave the house.

‘A police officer brought [Miss Finn] to our door and asked if we could look after her because there was a “problem” outside,’ he said. 

‘She was very upset and it was very scary, at first we had no idea what was happening. Then the doctor came into the house and said, “I’m sorry, he has died”.

Four boys were arrested shortly after the stabbing in Edmonton last night and a fifth boy the next day

Forensics officers at the scene where Mr Barry bled to death on Sunday night

‘That is when I realised how serious it was. She was in pieces. It was absolutely terrible, they spent 30 minutes trying to save him.’

The attack happened as council worker Miss Finn and her long-term boyfriend returned home, shortly before 8pm on Sunday. Their housing association flat is in a modern block, a stone’s throw from Edmonton Green railway station.

Police said the couple were confronted by the youths as they made their way into the building through a secure door, which opens on to the street. Officers suspect the teenagers were trying to get into a party somewhere in the area.

The victim - who was with a woman - was followed into the block of flats by two of the males, police said 

An officer stands outside Brickland Court. One boy has been charged with murder

Residents have been warned to keep the door closed at all times and not to let strangers inside for their own safety. 

Mr Muzengi added: ‘Sabrina said they were pressing the buzzer for another flat but no one was answering.

‘She and her boyfriend went through the door and at the same time they tried to push through, and he blocked them. They chased him and stabbed him.’ 

Mr Muzengi’s wife Petronella, 59, added: ‘There were ambulances flashing and police everywhere ... there is still blood outside.’

Police sealed off the scene after the stabbing and the man's girlfriend was being looked after by neighbours

As police searched nearby land the man's girlfriend gave a tearful statement to police at the scene in London

The group are believed to have been trying to get into a party when they argued with the victim of the stabbing

Last night it emerged that a 13-year-old boy held a birthday party on Sunday evening in the neighbouring block of flats.

His father, who declined to give his name, said he did not know about anyone trying to gatecrash it. 

He added: ‘We weren’t expecting anyone else and no one was ringing our bell, but we don’t know if some other kids had heard there was a party and were trying to get in. It happens around here.

‘The kids at our place left around 8pm, that’s when we found out what had happened. The police took my son’s friends’ names but they had already arrested some kids.’

Another local resident described Jack as a ‘hero’, adding: ‘Frankly, he did what a lot of people are too scared to do. And this is why.’ 

THE SWAMP - ESTATE WHERE EVEN THE POLICE FEAR TO TREAD 

Some streets near Edmonton Green are so notorious that they have been dubbed ‘The Swamp’ by local police officers.

Street violence is common, and latest figures show knife crime is rising despite huge efforts to clamp down on those carrying weapons.

The murder on Sunday was the third in just 16 days. All the killings took place within a mile of each other.

Former Catholic school pupil Khiry Ford, 23, was fatally stabbed in the chest by a hooded attacker during a street brawl on November 30.

One senior politician responsible for tackling crime in the capital described his death as a ‘catastrophe’. In a separate incident, also on November 30, Maciej Godlewski, 52, from Poland, suffered head injuries during a fight and died four days later in hospital.

The latest murder took place just a few hundred yards from the heavily fortified Edmonton Police Station.

Gang violence in the area first came to public attention in early 2008, when five youths were murdered in revenge attacks in just three months. And in 2011, 15-year-old Negus McLean was fatally stabbed and beaten with a metal pole by a gang on bikes who tried to steal his brother’s mobile phone.

Edmonton Green was also a flashpoint during the London riots in August 2011.

On Monday the entrance to the block was cordoned off as forensic teams gathered evidence.

Miss Finn was being comforted by her mother Catherine, 57, and half-sister Sarah, 25, at their home in Tottenham yesterday and was too upset to comment.

Detective Chief Inspector Neale Baldock said: ‘The victim and this group were not known to each other – what started as a minor verbal altercation has escalated into a shocking act of violence.’

Four of the boys arrested were seized immediately, with a fifth, aged 13, arrested in Enfield Borough at 11.30 on Monday morning before being taken to an East London police station.  

Detective Chief Inspector Neale Baldock of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: 'The victim and this group were not known to each other' and said the row escalated into a 'shocking act of violence' 

Neighbours said the 52-year-old victim of the stabbing lived with his girlfriend and they were hardworking 

Police were searching nearby roads and drains for evidence on Monday morning following the attack 

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