Kyall Parnell

Kyall Parnell was stabbed in the heart in Norwood Road near Tulse Hill Station in London on Sunday 31 December 2017.

He died at the scene at about 10.43pm.

Several people were arrested but no charges were made as it could not be ruled out that they had acted in self-defence.

He was stabbed following an altercation on a No. 68 bus heading for Herne Hill.

A 16-year-old was arrested shortly after Kyall Parnell died but was later released. He said that he had been chased by Kyall Parnell and that he had stabbed Kyall Parnell in self-defence after thinking that Kyall Parnell was going to stab him.

However, on 8 February 2021 a 19-year-old teenager was charged with his murder.

It was heard that Kyall Parnell had been on the No 68 bus with some friends when another group of youths, including the 16-year-old got on the bus and that there was a confrontation. The police said, 'As those three males walked up to the top deck where Kyall and his friends were sitting, there was immediately a confrontation. The three males who had just got on at Tulse Hill got off the bus and they were pursued by Kyall and his friends, with two of the males seeking refuge in a convenience store. Witnesses had seen the chasing group in possession of knives and Kyall is seen in very clear CCTV on the route 68 bus to approach an individual in a very aggressive manner with his hand placed towards his left hip area, there was a suggestion of something glinting. A knife was found on Kyall afterwards. The male, fearing for his safety, has stabbed Kyall once in the chest. This stab wound pierced the heart and it’s that that led to his death'.

The police also noted that during the confrontation that one of Kyall Parnell's friends had been heard to say, 'stab him, finish him off' and that it was in hearing that that the 16-year-old had taken his knife out of his bag and stabbed Kyall Parnell.

A person that saw the chase said, 'They ran round the side of the bus. There were about six or seven of them chasing the boy, the cars were zigzagging around them. They were not giving up. He tried to cross the road and it didn’t work so he went back to the bus stop. I looked back and someone was lying down. A girl was shaking the boy and screaming and a boy was standing next to them'.

The Crown Prosecution Service later said that they were not going to charge the 16-year-old with a homicide offence because there was the 'real issue' of self-defence.

Kyall Parnell had been on his way to a New Year's Eve party at the time.

He had recently enrolled on a bricklaying apprenticeship and was from Streatham and had been a former pupil at Dunraven school.