EXCLUSIVE: Family pay tribute to Tashawn Watt and express their ‘relief’ at conviction of 19-year-old for his murder
By Regina Motalib
A family member of murdered teenager Tashawn Watt has spoken about the family’s relief following the conviction Romello Harley, 19, who stabbed Tashawn to death last year.
Harley, 19 of Kirkdale, Sydenham, was found guilty of murder and convicted on Monday, 21 March at Inner London Crown Court.
The family member who was at the hearing but did not wish to be named, described the relief his family felt “to finally get justice” for the murder of their loved one on June 25.
She added: “Although nothing can bring back Tashawn or make up for the loss we feel following his murder, we are very relieved that justice has been served and his killer has been found guilty of his murder.”
She also spoke about the pain felt by Tashawn’s distraught mother. She said: “His mother will never come to terms with his death as she lost her child. Every birthday, every Christmas, we will feel the emptiness and miss his presence.
“At least this brings us some comfort – it’s enough to say we can now start to try and come to terms with this someday. It will be a long journey but today our family is relieved.”
She went on to express the gratitude the family felt towards the police for their work in bringing about a conviction. She added: “We are thankful to the police and the prosecutors for their tireless hard work. We feel they did a really good job and they fought hard to get justice for Tashawn and our family.”
Tashawn, 19, who was stabbed to death in front of his family, was described by as “much loved”. His relative added: “He was a loving and caring young man. No one had a bad word to say about him. The entire community loved Tashawn and that says a lot about his character.”
She paid tribute to the tragic teenager: “Tashawn…from your mum, your brothers and your sister, your family and close friends; you’ve gone but you will never be forgotten – may you rest in eternal peace.”
Romello Harley was convicted on Monday, 21 March at Inner London Crown Court.
Police had been called shortly after 9.30pm on 25 June 2021 after 19-year-old Tashawn was found collapsed in Miall Walk.
Cops and paramedics tried to save him but Tashawn died at the scene. He had been stabbed in the chest.
Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, investigating the case, established that Harley had been involved in an argument with a relative of Tashawn’s at the Watt’s family home a short time before the incident – which resulted in Harley being asked to leave.
He then went to arm himself with a knife before returning to the area and tried to lure Tashawn to an alleyway, but Tashawn refused to go with him. Harley then stabbed Tashawn in front of his family.
Harley then dropped the knife and ran away from the scene. As well as there being several witnesses to the incident, the attack was also caught on CCTV.
The suspect went into hiding and officers began an urgent manhunt to locate him. On 28 June, he handed himself in at Lewisham Police Station and was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Wood, who led the investigation, said:”My thoughts remain with Tashawn’s family as they continue to come to terms with the loss of their loved one in such awful and needless circumstances.
“I am pleased that as a result of our investigation we have delivered justice for them by ensuring the person responsible for Tashawn’s killing will spend a considerable time behind bars.”
A post-mortem examination carried out after Tashawn’s death found he had died from a stab wound to the chest.
Harley will be sentenced at the same court on a date to be set.