If we save one life in war on knives then it will be worth it, says father of murdered girl scout Jodie Chesney

A charity helping those living in fear of gangs has been set up in the teenager's memory
Peter Chesney, father of the murdered 17 year old Girl Scout Jodie Chesney
Mark Large/Daily Mail

The grieving father of murdered girl scout Jodie Chesney has spoken of the legacy being created in her memory, including a confidential helpline offering parents and young people advice on gang crime.

Peter Chesney, 39, said completing the community work started by 17-year-old Jodie was the only thing that gets him out of bed in the morning.

Mr Chesney, speaking weeks before the first anniversary of her killing, told the Standard: “Jodie was fantastic — too good for this life. It seems fitting to build a legacy. Nobody is going to forget Jodie’s name in a hurry.

“Whatever impact we have, even if we save one life, it will be worth it. Because I know the life that has been taken away from me and it hurts.”

Peter Chesney, father of the murdered 17-year-old Jodie Chesney
Mark Large / Daily Mail

He has set up the Jodie Chesney Foundation, a charity raising awareness of knife crime and supporting bereaved families.

Drug dealers Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, and Arron Isaacs, 17, were last year jailed for life for the senseless murder of Jodie , a talented A-level student who had visited 10 Downing Street with the scouts.

The thugs had emerged from the darkness to stab Jodie in the back as she sat with friends, mistaking her for a rival dealer in Amy’s Park, Harold Hill, on March 1.

Her foundation aims to set up a hotline, staffed by youth workers and ex-gang members, that parents, siblings and friends of at-risk children can call with their concerns about knives and county lines drug gangs.

Jodie Chesney with her father Peter
PA Wire/PA Images

Mr Chesney, of Dagenham, said: “Parents are scared. They don’t know what’s going on. And even if they do, they feel like they can’t do anything about it because these people kill.

"We desperately need a helpline where they could anonymously speak to a youth worker experienced in that field.

“Like what to do if their boy comes home with £100 trainers, cars, clothes and jewellery and you’re asking, ‘Where the hell did he get them from?’

“Parents don’t know what to do if their son goes missing for long periods of time or becomes disengaged at school.

Jodie Chesney was killed in Romford
PA

“We know the gangs sometimes assault or threaten young people with firearms, knives, bats and acid if they refuse to work for them, or when drugs and money go missing.”

Mr Chesney also wants better lighting in public spaces and streets, believing the park where Jodie died was so dark she was mistaken for someone else.

Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, was convicted of the killing and sentenced to life
PA

He called for tough sentencing for knife carriers, with possession treated the same as having a handgun, adding: “It should be one strike and you’re going to jail.

"We’re not going to change the world in a day but the situation is we’ve got 10-year-olds carrying knives because they think they need to.

"That cannot continue. They’re not just stabbing each other as a warning, it is being done with an intention to kill and people are being butchered out there."

17-year-old Arron Isaacs was also sentenced for Jodie Chesney's murder.
Met Police

He continued: “When I go into schools, I tell year five and six kids Jodie’s story and it inspires a generation and their parents.

"This charity work gives me a reason to get up in the morning. Jodie was so kind. I’m helping others as if I was Jodie.”

Judge Wendy Joseph QC handed Ong-a-Kwie a minimum term of 26 years and ordered Isaacs be detained for at least 18 years.

Jodie’s boyfriend Eddie Coyle, 18, who witnessed the murder, dropped out of college due to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Eddie Coyle, 18, the boyfriend of murdered teenager Jodie Chesney
PA Wire/PA Images

Mr Chesney, whose relationship with Jodie’s stepmother Joanne, 36, broke down, also gave up his job in the City to attend the trial.

On the night Jodie died, the couple had been in London celebrating Mr Chesney’s birthday when police arrived to collect him from a pub.

In a police van racing to hospital he collapsed to his knees when he heard a radio operator say: “Jodie’s gone.”

Jodie Chesney with her friends before the stabbing
PA

Mr Chesney said: “It is taking a lot of strength and grit to get through this.

"My 40th birthday at the end of this month will be just another day, nothing special. I will celebrate Jodie’s life because she wouldn’t want me to be miserable on my birthday.

“It’s not good either for Jodie’s friends who were there. She died in her boyfriend Eddie’s arms.

"I was happy with the sentences Ong-a-Kwie and Isaacs received. I’m grateful we got the person who actually stabbed her. I hope they both rot.

"What happened to Jodie and our family was horrible and tragic, but I really know we are going to make a difference.”

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