Jodie Chesney: third arrest over park murder of teenager

A third man has been charged in connection with the murder of 17-year-old Jodie Chesney in a park in east London.

Police say 18-year-old Svenson Ong-a-kwie, from Romford, was arrested on 10 March on suspicion of murder. He will appear at Barkingside Magistrates Court today.

Chesney was stabbed in the back while listening to music with friends in Harold Hill park on 1 March and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Daily Mail reports that the stab wound was seven inches (18cm) deep.

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A post-mortem gave the cause of death as trauma and haemorrhage. Leading tributes to the murdered teenager, Chesney’s father, Peter, described her as a “great girl” and a “proud geek”.

Manuel Petrovic, a 20-year-old from Romford, and a 16-year-old boy who cannot legally be named, have also been charged over her death and are due to be tried for murder in September, Sky News says.

Another three people - a 38-year-old woman and 50-year-old man, both from Dagenham, and a 17-year-old boy - were arrested last week on suspicion of assisting an offender but have been released under investigation.

The Metropolitan Police say their murder inquiry is ongoing and have appealed to anyone with information to come forward.

According to the BBC, Chesney is the fifth teenager to be stabbed to death in the capital so far this year.