Jodie Chesney’s killers - an amateur boxer from Collier Row and a 17-year-old drug runner - had drifted into the violent but lucrative world of drug dealing from broken homes.

Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, and the 17-year-old from east London were found guilty on Thursday, November 7, of the murder of Jodie Chesney.

They are due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Monday, November 18.

Svenson Ong-a-Kwie

Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, also known as Spencer, was a "charismatic and charming" cannabis dealer - with a fondness for carrying knives.

He ran a slick drugs line, sending texts to hundreds of customers advertising cocaine and "pineapple express" cannabis - so-called after the Seth Rogan movie about stoners.

At 6ft 2in, Ong-a-Kwie was identified as Jodie's stabber, even though he blamed his 17-year-old "runner" for the attack.

It was suggested Ong-a-Kwie was the driving force behind the murder because he wanted revenge for an earlier stabbing by another youth.

In October last year, Ong-a-Kwie was stabbed in the thigh and according to his 17-year-old co-defendant, was looking for the culprits on the day of the murder.

Ong-a-Kwie had convictions for possessing cocaine and cannabis and failure to surrender to custody from when he was 16.

In April 2017, he admitted dealing cocaine after being caught with wraps of the class A drug and a knife.

In October last year, he also pleaded guilty to two charges of handling stolen goods.

Following Jodie's murder, police recovered a knife from Ong-a-Kwie's hostel, and one near to where his clothes were burned. However, none could be forensically linked to the crime.

The 17-year-old 'runner'

The other defendant convicted of Jodie's murder had a difficult upbringing.

He was taken into care at a young age after his mother suffered from mental illness and was unable to cope.

He left school without any qualifications and picked a life of petty crime, stealing mopeds.

Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said he was not a "star child", as he himself said, "but perhaps he has never really had the chance to be one".

His spiral into a life of crime ended with him acting as a "runner" for drug dealer Ong-a-Kwie.

It was alleged in court that the 17-year-old was responsible for "cheffing" another youngster last September, when Ong-a-Kwie was also present

But he denied stabbing Jodie after Ong-a-Kwie attempted to deflect the blame for the senseless murder, which caused a wave of revulsion across London.

The 17-year-old had a conviction for actual bodily harm and possessing a pointed article following an incident involving a shopkeeper and a screwdriver.

He also had a conviction for possession of a kitchen knife.

On his arrest on March 10, he had a hunting knife in his rucksack.