‘My son is serving time for someone else’s crime’
Mum hits out at the justice system after 20-year murder sentence
A HARLESDEN mum whose teenage son was sentenced to 20 years in prison for murder, under joint-enterprise rules, says they have been “let down” by the “Great British justice” system.
Patricia Nsiah’s son, Dominic Calder, 19, from Hayes and his best friend Mikel Mulqueen, 19, from Harlesden, were last year jailed for the murder of 21-yearold Meshach Lee Mitchell Williams. Meshach was stabbed to death on Harlesden High Street on April 23 2019.
On January 31 2020, Calder and Mulqueen were given life sentences with a minimum term of 20 years for their part in the “joint participation” killing.
A third man, Emmanuel Kamara, 24, also from Harlesden, was cleared of murder by the jury. On December 11 last year, Tjani Williams-Campbell, 18, from Neasden, was convicted of manslaughter while a 17-year-old boy was found not guilty at the same trial. Williams-Campbell was due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey as the paper went to press.
Calder’s mum, Patricia, believes her son’s case needs to be urgently reviewed as “evidence in the criminal case shows that neither of the boys actually participated in the murder of Meshach”.
She said: “The headlines at the time were that the boys were murderers – they are not murderers. They were never identified as murderers.
“They were identified as being at the scene of the crime and the joint enterprise law has been taken and turned around to paint a picture that is not true.”
Joint enterprise is a common law where an individual can be jointly convicted of the crime of another, if the court decides they foresaw that the other party was likely to commit that crime.
On the day of Meshach’s murder he was walking with a friend along Harlesden High Street at around 9pm when he was passed by a VW Passat and a Renault Clio.
The Old Bailey heard the vehicles turned back on themselves, at which point one of the occupants got out and launched a targeted attack, during which Meshach was stabbed
The suspect vehicles then turned round in the street and waited before carrying the attacker away from the crime scene. Meshach’s friend was struck by one of the vehicles as it fled but his injuries were not life-threatening.
Meshach managed to flee into a bookmakers but collapsed shortly afterwards. He was pronounced dead in hospital in the early hours of the next morning.
Calder, Mulqueen and Kamara were identified by police early on in the investigation after CCTV and mobile phone evidence connected them to the scene. Calder and Mulqueen were convicted of murder, while Kamara was acquitted.
Williams-Campbell was later convicted of manslaughter under joint enterprise after it was shown he was part of a plan to attack Meshach. A 17-yearold boy, who was also charged at the same time as WilliamsCampbell, was found not guilty at the same trial.
“The motive for the attack has not ever been fully established but is thought to have been linked to an earlier dispute involving the same parties,” a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said.
It is understood police are still investigating the stabbing, with the person who inflicted the fatal stab wound yet to be caught.
Patricia maintains that her son did not even know what happened on that tragic day.
She said: “Dominic has denied even knowing what happened – he thought the guy had jumped out of the car to go to the shop.
“When we saw the CCTV we thought Dominic would be coming home. It showed exactly what he said, he didn’t get out of the car.
“We didn’t even see him on the CCTV. Nobody put their hands out the window, nobody opened the car doors, no one got out the car.
“If you want to charge Dominic for being at the scene, charge him for being at the scene. I don’t know how you can throw a murder charge because they’re at the scene.”
Patricia said that council CCTV cameras in the area were unclear so they could not identify the attacker.
During the trial it was heard mobile phone evidence placed Calder and Mulqueen at the crime scene at the time of the attack.
However, Patricia questions that if they had known what was happening they would not have taken their phones.
Patricia said: “Dominic was identified as [being] there because of his telephone, but you can see clearly they did not participate in the actual incident.
“He (Calder) is facing a minimum 20-year sentence, the rest of his life basically, serving a sentence for someone else’s crime.
“He’s a young lad, he’s only 19 years old now. He’s part of a big family. Very, very loving. Articulate, loyal. A charming personality.”
The court heard that it had later been arranged for one of the cars used in the attack to be set alight in Gladstone Park.
After sentencing, Detective Sergeant Devan Taylor, of the Specialist Crime Command, said: “Calder and Mulqueen attacked Meshach on a busy street following an earlier altercation in Tubbs Road.
“Their actions that night mean they will now spend a significant
period of time in prison, while Meshach’s family will have to try to cope with this devastating loss for the rest of their lives.”
Patricia hopes that some time soon the case will be reviewed and an appeal can be launched, but until then she tries to remain positive.
She said: “Sometimes I have my down moments. The way the justice system has treated us thus far, I don’t hold out much hope. Twenty years is a lifetime – it’s huge for something he didn’t do.
“They need to review the law on how they are sentencing these young boys and their account of their actual involvement.
“Before Dominic’s case I had never even heard of joint enterprise, I never had any knowledge of it. I actually class it as an injustice.”
Speaking after sentencing earlier this year, Meshach’s mum Ruth said: “My life was unexpectedly turned upside down on April 24 2019, when I was informed that my eldest child and only son, whom I doted on completely, was gone forever.
“It’s a mother’s worst nightmare – news a mother should never have to hear because we all know that a parent should never have to bury their child.
“This cold and brutal murder of Meshach, who we lovingly refer to as Mesh, has left our whole family in a place of no recovery.”