TWELVE years after new father Peter Hennessy was stabbed outside a Finsbury pub, his family are still in the dark about why he was killed.

TWELVE years after new father Peter Hennessy was stabbed outside a Finsbury pub, his family are still in the dark about why he was killed.

And despite a �10,000 reward being on the table, no-one has ever been charged over his death.

Now Peter's grieving parents have made an emotional appeal calling on anyone with information to finally come forward.

Peter, 22, was stabbed to death outside the former Duke of Wellington pub, in Lever Street, at about 11pm on August 30, 1998.

At the time of his death, Peter's son - who is now 12 - was just nine weeks old.

Peter's parents Betty and Nick Hennessy, who moved away from Lever Street after the killing, are desperate for the culprit to be put behind bars.

Mrs Hennessy said: "In all frankness, it's devastating. The police have been very good to us. They have been excellent in treating us well. But what we really want is for someone to go to jail for this.

"There are people out there who know what happened - but it's not printable what I want to say to them. I just want them to come forward.

"We are getting on with our lives as best we can but it would mean a great deal to the family if someone were brought to justice."

Peter grew up in the area, attending St John the Evangelist Primary School in Duncan Street, Islington, and then a now-closed secondary school in Kentish Town before getting a job as a shop manager.

On the night of the killing, Peter and his brother Mark were in the Duke of Wellington - which no longer exists - when an argument broke out and Peter and Mark were asked to leave.

The brothers left but returned shortly afterwards - and ended up getting involved in a fight with a number of other customers outside the pub.

During the row, Peter was stabbed in the stomach. He was rushed to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel but was pronounced dead on arrival. The post mortem gave the cause of death as a single stab wound to the stomach.

His brother, who was also taken to hospital, was treated for cuts and a broken jaw.

In the following month, six men were arrested but they were all released with no further action being taken.

Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, from the Metropolitan Police's Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said: "Peter's death had a devastating and lasting effect on his family and friends.

"We have never given up on the case and hope that an anniversary appeal might encourage someone to come forward with information that might help us trace Peter's killers."

If you have any information that may help, please call the incident room at Hendon on 020 8358 0200. To remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.