Killers of Canonbury teen shot in Clapton still on loose year after death
Joseph Burke Monerville and his twin brother Jonathan - Credit: Archant
The family of a Canonbury teenager who was shot dead in Clapton are still searching for answers, a year after his death.
Joseph Burke-Monerville, a 19-year-old Nigerian prince, was shot in the head in February 2013 while sat in a car with his twin brother Jonathan and elder brother David, 24, in Hindrey Road.
The three had just left the gym at Hackney Baths and had stopped outside a newsagents when two masked men came up to the car and asked them if they were from the Pembury Estate, Pembury Road.
Outrage
When the brothers said no, the gunman’s accomplice is alleged to have said “waste them anyway”, before the killer opened fire, hitting Joseph in the head and shattering David’s arm – narrowly missing his heart.
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Despite arrests being made, police have yet to charge anyone over the killing, the second bereavement the family has suffered due to street violence.
Joseph’s father John Burke-Monerville, 70, of Canonbury Square, said: “My family is grateful for the many expressions of condolence and of outrage at this senseless crime and for the support we have received since February 16 last year.
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“We would not want any other parents to suffer what we’ve been through. It does not get easier with the passing of time.
“In fact it gets much harder, especially when you know that those responsible have not been brought to justice and could well be causing other families the unbelievable grief we have been suffering.”
In 1994, the twins’ elder brother Trevor was stabbed 13 times and killed – no arrests have been made.
Joseph and his brother Jonathan, who were both six months into studying a degree in Crime Scene and Forensic Investigation at London Metropolitan University when he was killed, were taken out of their secondary school because of their parents’ fears over youth violence in London.
Police are currently offering a £30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Joseph’s murder.
Mr Burke-Monerville said: “We call on witnesses and on those in the community who know who Joseph’s murderers are, to come forward and tell the police what they know.
“By staying silent, you put others at risk, including yourselves and your loved ones.”
Joseph’s family will be holding a memorial service at St John at Hackney, Lower Clapton Road at 6.30pm on Sunday.
A vigil will then be held from 8pm in Clarence Road, where Joseph was killed.
