The family of Jodie Chesney have hailed 'justice' for the stabbed girl scout after a drug dealer and his young 'runner' were convicted of her murder today.

Jodie, 17, was an innocent victim who was knifed in an unprovoked 'drug feud' attack in a park in Harold Hill, east London in March.

Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named, were today convicted of the killing following a lengthy trial.

Police have admitted they may never know the true motive for the stabbing, but prosecutors believe Ong-a-Kwie wanted to get revenge for being knifed by a rival a few months earlier.

It is thought he may have mistakenly believed his rivals were in the park at the time and wrongly stabbed Jodie.

Jodie's father, Peter, expressed his relief at the two guilty verdicts outside court this afternoon, saying: 'I'm over the moon about. We got them... Justice for Jodie. For Jodie!'

Mr Chesney, 39, clenched his fists as he spoke and tears swelled in his eyes as relatives cheered: 'Justice for Jodie'. He then hugged detectives who helped crack the case.

Girl scout Jodie Chesney, who was murdered in an east London park in March this year. Her two killers were found guilty of murder today

Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, pictured (left) in a social media photo and (right) on CCTV before the killing, is a drug dealer who is thought to have wanted to settle a score with a rival

Jodie's father, Peter, expressed his relief at the two guilty verdicts outside court, saying: 'I'm over the moon about. We got them.'

Prosecutors said it was a case of mistaken identity and Jodie was a victim of the 'casual violence' all too regularly meted out by the young thugs who populate London's drug-dealing world.

Both of those convicted had denied being involved in Jodie's death, each blaming the other for the stabbing.

Jodie's family shouted 'yes' as the first verdict was returned.

Two co-defendants Manual Petrovic, 20, and a 16-year-old boy, were cleared of murder.

Jodie and her friends had been smoking cannabis and listening to music in a park when she was stabbed in the back on the evening of March 1.

The trial has heard how Ong-a-Kwie and the 17-year-old went into the park to carry out the stabbing as the two others waited in the car.

Shortly before the murder, Ong-a-Kwie had summoned the other three to his home for the revenge mission, telling Petrovic in text message: 'I need you here ASAP.'

Jodie, pictured with her dog and before her school prom in photos released by her family

Jodie is pictured at Pride celebrations in central London

A family handout shows Jodie Chesney playing the piano before she was murdered age 17

Jodie's father said his daughter (pictured with him when she was younger) was a 'beautiful person' who was just 'blossoming into a wonderful young woman' when her life was cut short.

Jodie is pictured when she is younger beaming at the camera in a family handout photo

Giving evidence, Jodie's boyfriend Eddie Coyle, 18, told how she collapsed in his arms in front of their horrified friends.

He said he thought the taller of the two assailants - said to be 6ft 2in Ong-a-Kwie - was about to punch Jodie when he 'swung his arm out' and stabbed her.

Mr Coyle said: 'She was in shock at first. She started screaming continuously, very loud, about two minutes straight. After she stopped screaming she began to faint.'

Jodie was with her boyfriend Eddie Coyle (right) at the time she was murdered. He witnessed the stabbing and gave evidence in the drug dealers' trial

Jodie died before she arrived at hospital from a 18cm deep stab wound to the back which almost passed right through her body.

As news of the attack spread through social media, police rushed to find her father Peter, who was out celebrating his birthday in central London.

At first, investigators were in the dark, with no motive, no CCTV and no clear picture of what had happened in the 'pitch black' park.

The case was cracked after a motorist came forward to report Mr Petrovic's Corsa in a road nearby.

In the coming days, police seized key CCTV and phone evidence linking Mr Petrovic to the rest of the defendants, who turned on each other at their Old Bailey trial, although the 16-year-old declined to give evidence.

Ong-a-Kwie admitted being in the park but said the 17-year-old had stabbed Jodie, thinking she was a youth called 'Tash'.

In turn, the 17-year-old said Ong-a-Kwie was responsible and had even confessed that he 'messed up' before disposing of the knife and burning his clothes.

Mr Petrovic said he knew nothing of what was about to happen in the park.

Petrovic later told a prison visitor: 'They went to bang out (attack) on their ops (rivals) and banged out the wrong people.

'Because I know that...It was to do with Svenson's op - they cheffed (stabbed) him up a couple of month or something, a couple of months before.

'Someone gave him the drop (tip off). He went to ride out and rid out on the wrong people in the park and they thought it was them because they chill in the area. That's why she (Jodie) got it from behind.'

Manuel Petrovic drove Ong-a-Kwie to the scene of the stabbing but insisted he didn't know what his associate planned to do. He was cleared of murder today

Police at the park where Jodie was suddenly knifed by the drug dealer as she chatted to friends

Speaking after today's verdicts, Detective Chief Inspector Dave Whellams said the attack could have been on 'anybody's daughter'.

He added: 'She was just an ordinary girl and that's the tragedy. She was an ordinary girl going about her ordinary business and has fallen foul of these people.

'They have gone there purposefully to stab somebody and they have not cared who they stabbed. They stabbed a 17-year-old girl in the back for no reason.'

How the senseless killing of a popular Explorer Scout led to outpouring of grief in community sick of gang violence

Jodie was weeks away from gaining her Gold level Duke of Edinburgh Award

The death of popular college student and Explorer Scout Jodie Chesney lead to an outpouring of emotion in Harold Hill, Romford.

Residents and family members were stunned that a girl who had always made the right decisions could have ended up a victim of London's plague of stabbings.

Jodie, from Dagenham, was a keen Explorer Scout who had also attained silver level in her Duke of Edinburgh Award. She was just two weeks away from reaching gold when she was killed.

She had visited Downing Street while a Scout and taken part in a televised Remembrance commemoration in November last year.

A keen classical pianist and photographer, Jodie was also selected to honour the Chelsea Pensioners at the Royal Albert Hall, appearing in a BBC broadcast last year in front of the Queen and Prince William.

Jodie's father Peter has set up a charity, the Jodie Chesney Foundation, aimed at taking action to steer young people away from knife crime.

Speaking shortly after her death, her father Peter Chesney described her as 'kind, good and thoughtful' and the 'nicest person ever'. He added: 'She wouldn't have done anything to deserve this.'

Jodie wanted to be a vet and was studying for A-levels in psychology, sociology and photography at Havering Sixth Form College in Hornchurch.

Jodie's father, Peter, pictured outside court today after his daughter's killers were convicted

Jodie's father, Peter, pictured outside court today after his daughter's killers were convicted

Jodie Chesney, 17, (circled in red) is stood next to Explorer Scouts at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2018. Just months before she was stabbed to death in a London park

College principal Paul Wakeling said she was as a 'wonderful' and 'caring' student, who sometimes dyed her hair purple.

He said: 'We all had banter with Jodie about her different hair colours and that made her laugh. Jodie would talk to her teachers, who she had great relationships with, about her lovely family, and that's because she loved the college.'

He said Jodie was a 'great girl' and a 'proud geek', adding: 'She was the nicest person any of us know.

'The fibre of her being was just about being good, kind... there was nothing bad in her body. She wouldn't have hurt anybody.'

Chief Scout Bear Grylls, who lent his support to the Foundation, said Jodie was 'one of our brightest and best'.

Grylls wrote: 'She put everything into life and her dedication to her friends, her family, to Scouts and her community was incredible.

'When she represented us at the Royal Albert Hall at the Annual Festival of Remembrance, we could not have hoped for a better ambassador for the movement. Now's it's our turn to remember her.'

Grieving friends and family tied purple ribbons around the park following the shocking murder

In the wake of her death, locals and Jodie's family launched a purple ribbon campaign in her name calling for more police on the streets and tougher penalties for knife crime.

Purple was the teenager's favourite colour and, in the wake of her killing, those living in the area turned Harold Hill purple by tying bows around trees, and on front doors, fences and balconies. They also wore purple ribbons in memory of Jodie.

During the trial, prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said: 'Jodie was a fine young woman, a girl of achievement and ambition, without apparently an enemy in the world, a victim of a brutal attack of unprovoked violence.

Detectives admit family may never know true motive for the attack DCI Perry Benton, pictured speaking outside Scotland Yard The parents of murdered girl scout Jodie Chesney will probably never know why she died, senior police officers have admitted. DCI Perry Benton said: 'Only the four people in that car knew why they went there. Even if anyone was convicted, it is highly unlikely that they will admit their involvement. 'Manuel Petrovic is a born liar and has lied throughout the trial. Petrovic and Svenson are probably at the same level. It is clear in this case that juveniles were their runners.' 'Quite why it was Jodie we don't really know. 'There was obviously no justification for what they did to her. They have destroyed her family's life. 'Jodie and her friends were innocent and do not deserve all of this. They have gone there purposefully to stab someone. They have not cared who have stabbed. They have stabbed a 17-year-old girl in the back. 'It just goes to show their mentality and what they will do if they feel themselves wronged in some way.' Advertisement

Jodie's killers: Charming drug dealer who advertised 'Pineapple Express' cannabis and 17-year-old runner who turned on each other in the dock

Svenson Ong-a-Kwie ran a drugs line and sent hundreds of texts to customers advertising new substances he'd got his hands on

Out of control and out for revenge, Jodie Chesney's killers had drifted into the violent but lucrative world of drug dealing from broken homes.

Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, also known as Spencer, was a 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.

Ong-a-Kwie, 19, (centre) was see with his associates in a cafe hours before the killing

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 other defendant convicted of Jodie's murder, the 17-year-old 'runner', 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.

Killer Svenson Ong-a-Kwie is pictured on CCTV leaving the hostel where he lived shortly before the stabbing

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

Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said the 17-year-old 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 of an innocent Girl Scout 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.

Footage of previous knife attack shows how violence was an everyday occurrence for killers Footage shows Jodie Chesney's killers involved in a previous knife fight just months before they killed the girl scout. CCTV footage shows Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, being attacked by two men who speed up to him on a moped on 5 September 2018 in Romford. Ong-a-Kwie can be seen walking along the pavement when the moped comes from behind him and he is confronted by the two riders. He is punched to the floor and kicked by the duo before he manages to scramble to his feet and stagger off as a member of the public rushes over to help him. The footage shows Ong-a-Kwie holding his side as his attackers corner the man who came to his aid. It is believed one of the youths of was the 17-year-old today also convicted of Jodie's murder. Advertisement

There have been more than 120 murders in London so far this year (pictured, where the murders have taken place in the capital this year)