The bereft parents of Folajimi Orebiyi spoke of their loss at the hearing which saw a 15-year-old detained indefinitely for his murder.
Mum Yinka Bankole said she was still “trying to process” his death, while dad Michael Orebiyi said he cannot find “rest and peace”.
They were speaking at the Old Bailey on Friday (February 10) as a 15-year-old was detained indefinitely and for a minimum of 13 years for stabbing to death their 17-year-old son, who was affectionately known as Fola.
He was ambushed and stabbed to death on Portobello Road in Notting Hill on Sunday, July 3 last year.
Ms Bankole described her son as “a vibrant and intelligent young man, with a bright future ahead of him” who was looking forward to going to university to study maths and physics.
“We are still trying to process the fact that our beloved boy is no longer with us,” she said in a statement on behalf of the family.
"Fola’s young brother said he was his best friend and asks for him every day.
“He knows Fola is in heaven now and not coming back but still asks for him all the time."
The victim’s father Michael Orebiyi said he cannot find “rest and peace” and that “being happy doesn’t feel right anymore”.
“Each time it hits my heart it’s devastating. Fola was my son and didn’t deserve to die in the way he did,” he added.
Judge Anthony Bate said he was moved by the statements from Fola’s family describing their “profound sense of loss at this talented young man’s life being tragically cut short”.
A 17-year-old co-defendant was found not guilty of murder at the same trial.
Speaking afterwards, Ms Bankole said that no prison sentence would be long enough for his murderer, before urging the government to do more to tackle knife crime.
The 15-year-old defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, cried in the dock with his head bowed as a judge detained him at Her Majesty’s pleasure, the equivalent of life imprisonment, with a minimum of 13 years for murder at the Old Bailey on Friday (February 10).
He had been found guilty at the same court in January.
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