The murder of Stephen Lawrence shook the nation back in 1993 as it revealed the harrowing extent of the UK’s problem with racism.
On April 22, 18-year-old Stephen was on his way home waiting at a bus stop with a friend when he was ambushed by a gang who stabbed him repeatedly before fleeing the scene, his friend Duwayne Brooks said. His injuries were so catastrophic that he died before making it to the hospital.
In the days that followed Stephen’s brutal murder, several residents came forward to provide the names of suspects. Five men were identified by police in connection with the attack – Gary Dobson, brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, Luke Knight and David Norris.
Stephen’s family tragically endured a long road before seeing any form of justice, but eventually, 19 years later, Dobson and Norris were jailed for his murder. Despite being named as suspects, brothers Jamie and Neil Acourt, alongside Luke Knight, were never convicted of the crime.
The sixth attacker remained unknown, but last June a new suspect was named in the racist murder after police finally admitted “many mistakes” were made in the initial investigation.
Today marks 32 years since his death and in February this year – 25 years since the damning Macpherson Inquiry – which uncovered major failings in the police investigation and in the way the police had treated Stephen Lawrence’s family and friend Duwayne Brooks – The Mirror takes a look at those accused of his brutal murder and where they are now…
Gary Dobson was 17 when the crime was committed. He was first arrested on May 7, 1993. Charges were not brought against him at this time.
The Lawrence family launched a private prosecution against Dobson and he was acquitted on April 24, 1996, by a jury. In the trial, the judge said any identification evidence given by Stephen’s friend Duwayne was unreliable.
A cold case review in 2006 Stephen’s blood on Dobson’s jacket and his hair on Dobson’s clothes after using new technology to forensically reexamine all the evidence. Based on this, Dobson was arrested and charged with Stephen’s murder on September 8, 2010.
At the time, Dobson was already in prison for drug dealing. Since he had been previously acquitted an application was made to the Court of Appeal to quash his original acquittal.
These proceedings were private at the time to ensure a fair hearing. Dobson’s acquittal was officially quashed in April 2011, and he was convicted of Stephen’s murder and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 15 years and two months. He is understood to be serving time in Gartree Prison in Market Harborough, Leicestershire.
Norris was 16 at the time of Stephen’s murder. He turned himself in to the police in May 1993, but a charge was not brought against him at this time.
When Stephen’s family launched a private prosecution, the charge against Norris was dropped because of a lack of evidence. In 2002, Norris and Neil Acourt were jailed for 18 months for a racist attack against a plain-clothes Black police officer.
Norris had thrown a drink at the officer from a car and shouted “n*****” while Acourt drove the vehicle at him during the attack in May the previous year, in Eltham, South East London, less than a mile from where Mr Lawrence was murdered.
A cold case review found Stephen’s hair on Norris’ clothes. This new evidence led to Norris being charged and convicted for Stephen’s murder. He was also sentenced to life with a minimum term of 14 years and three months.
Norris is currently serving time at HMP Dartmoor after being moved from HMP Garth. In 2022, it was revealed that Norris had been accused of taking selfies behind bars, bragging he would be free in two years when he can apply for parole, the BBC reports.
Daily Mail first reported the killer had obtained a smartphone and in a social media post he reportedly sent from jail, he wrote that he was “buzzing” after the High Court had agreed to grant him parole. He added: “Get that party sorted girls ‘cos I [will] be there soon. Eye Eye the man’s bk [back] in town.”
Neil Acourt was picked out of a lineup and was charged on May 13, 1993. However, on July 29, 1993, it was dropped after the CPS said there was insufficient evidence.
A private prosecution saw Neil Acourt recharged, but he was acquitted of murder by a jury. He along with Norris was jailed for 18 months for a racist attack on an off-duty Black police officer in 2002.
In 2018, he went to jail for his role in heading a gang that moved cannabis resin between London and the North East. He was released in March 2019 after serving less than half of his six-year sentence.
Jamie Acourt was arrested for the crime on May 7, 1993, but a charge was not brought at this time. It came later when the family sought a private prosecution, but it was dropped because of a lack of evidence.
In 2018, he was jailed alongside his brother after admitting his role in a cannabis smuggling operation. In March last year, it was reported Acourt was earning £3,600 a month as a courier after being freed from prison.
He appeared in court over his failure to pay back £90,000 he made from a £3million drugs plot. Acourt, who spent more than two years on the run living in Spain under the alias Simon Alfonzo, was released from prison in November 2022 after serving half of his nine-year sentence over the drugs plot.
Luke Knight was first arrested on June 3, 1993, and was charged with murder 20 days later. However, this was dropped by the CPS citing insufficient evidence.
He was charged again following a private prosecution sought by Stephen’s family. In April 1996, he was acquitted of murder by a jury. Knight is the only one of the original five who does not have a criminal conviction.
In 2009 he did an interview where he protested his innocence. He said: “I’m an innocent man. I’ve done nothing wrong. I’m totally innocent – I wasn’t even there [at the murder scene].”
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that Matthew White, who died in 2015 at the age of 50, was a major suspect at the time following the killing. The force made the unusual admission about White last June after the BBC identified that key inquiries had been mishandled in the force’s initial 1990s investigation.
While five prime suspects were identified in the aftermath, a later public inquiry found there had likely been as many as six attackers based on eyewitness testimony. Failures during the investigation into White reportedly included officers entering the wrong information about him into a police database when a relative came forward, and the Met not following up a lead when another force recommended that his role in the murder was established.
Both White’s relative and another witness also told police that he himself had admitted to taking part in the killing. Police surveillance photos taken of White meanwhile resembled a fair-haired attacker described at the scene by witnesses.
The year before White died, the BBC reports he pleaded guilty to an attack on a black shop worker near the site of Lawrence’s murder. The victim claimed that he had referenced the murder during the incident and told him he would be “Stephen Lawrenced”.
Responding to the latest claims, the Metropolitan Police said Matthew White first came to their attention as a witness in 1993, and was arrested and interviewed on two occasions in March 2000 and in December 2013. Files were submitted to prosecutors on two occasions in May 2005 and October 2014, but on both occasions, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) advised there was no realistic prospect of conviction of White for any offence.
Following the announcement, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward said: “The impact of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence and attack on Duwayne Brooks, and subsequent inquiries, continues to be felt throughout policing. Unfortunately, too many mistakes were made in the initial investigation and the impact of them continues to be seen.
“On the 30th anniversary of Stephen’s murder, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised for our failings and I repeat that apology today.”
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