A London teenager who killed his best friend in front of his family after the two got into a disagreement has been sentenced to prison, according to MyLondon.
On Monday, Romello Harley, 19, received a minimum sentence of 22 years in prison for killing Tashawn Watt, 19, and possessing a bladed weapon, the New York Post reports.
On June 25, 2021, an argument started at the Watts’ home in Sydenham, London, between Harley and Watt’s brother, Kashawn. The three went to the garden shed in the back of Tashawn and Kashawn’s mother’s home, and a physical fight broke out between Harley and Kashawn, MyLondon reports.
When Harley punched Tashawn in the face, the two brothers notified their mother, Denise Campbell, to demand that the teen leave.
As Harley left, he issued a warning, saying, “You think you are bad and watch,” according to MyLondon. Video surveillance recorded him going back to the Watts’ home 15 minutes later with “apparent determination,” according to the Post, trying to entice Kashawn into a nearby alleyway to talk.
Both Kashawn and his mother had their reservations. However, Tashawn, affectionately known as Tata to his close friends and family, decided to go out and talk to him.
Harley then stabbed the teen twice, according to MyLondon.
Tashawn slumped to the ground a few seconds later, and his mother called paramedics. He was pronounced dead at the scene as his family held him.
“My last memory of Tata was him dying on the floor in front of me,” his grieving mother said, the New York Post reports.
Campbell expressed her thoughts about Harley, saying they showed him “nothing but kindness and allowed him into our home as though he was one of our family members.”