Jodie Chesney death: Boyfriend of stabbed girl 'managed to catch her' Published duration 20 September 2019 Related Topics Jodie Chesney murder trial

image caption Jodie Chesney was fatally attacked in a park near Romford, east London

A 17-year-old girl collapsed in her boyfriend's arms after she was fatally stabbed, a court has heard.

Jodie Chesney was on a park bench with friends when she was knifed in the back in Harold Hill, east London.

Boyfriend Eddie Coyle, 18, told the Old Bailey he was forced to catch Jodie as she fell to the ground after "screaming" out in shock.

Manuel Petrovic, 20, Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, both from Romford, and two boys, aged 16 and 17, deny murder.

Giving evidence from behind a screen, Mr Coyle said the group of friends had just started smoking cannabis when Jodie was attacked.

"She was in shock at first. She did not know what had happened," he said.

"She started screaming continuously, very loud, about two minutes straight."

image copyright PA Media image caption Jodie Chesney (pictured with her boyfriend Eddie Coyle) died after being stabbed in the back

Mr Coyle added: "After she stopped screaming she began to faint. At this time she was falling off the bench.

"The guys ran off. I did not really see - I was trying to catch Jodie at the time.

"I managed to catch her, put her on the floor.

"She was wearing a thick jacket so we did not know how bad the wound was at first, but there was a lot of blood."

image copyright PA Media image caption Mr Coyle told the court he and Jodie had been going out for about three months

Describing Jodie as a "great, funny, silly and sensible" person, Mr Coyle told jurors she had been laughing "one second" before she was attacked.

It has been alleged that Mr Petrovic and Mr Ong-a-Kwie were in business selling drugs together, while the 16-year-old defendant acted as a "runner" for Mr Petrovic and the 17-year-old was helping Mr Ong-a-Kwie sell drugs that day.

Cross-examining, Sarah Forshaw QC, for Mr Petrovic, asked if the group were expecting another delivery of cannabis, after one of them had got some earlier. Mr Coyle said they were not.

image copyright Julia Quenzier image caption Manuel Petrovic (left), Svenson Ong-a-Kwie (right) and two boys (behind) deny murder

A 17-year-old girl, who cannot be identified, told jurors she had been sitting next to Jodie and heard the attackers walking across the grass.

"I looked around and saw a guy with a black puffer jacket and fur trimmed hood," she said.

"They opened up the gate and I heard this slashing noise."

The witness said she "thought they were taking our bags" but Jodie "started to breathe really heavily" and began to scream.

"She fell unconscious a few seconds later. When I heard the noise I looked around and I saw them run," she said.