by Jo Steele
(August 19, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The sister of a murdered teenager broke down in tears as she paid tribute to her brother at the family's home yesterday. [ Picture:The scene of the stabbing]
Nilanthan Murali became the 50th young person to be murdered on London's streets since the start of 2007 after he was stabbed in the neck.
His sister Santhiya, 18, learned of his death while in India, where she and her mother were visiting their critically ill grandmother.
She flew back yesterday to the family home in New Addington, near Croydon, south London, where she told reporters: 'He was my one and only brother and God has just taken him.'
His cousin, Vinisha Manickkavasaghan, 24, said: 'Words cannot describe what his mum and dad are going through. They just can't cope.'
The 17-year-old, who had friends in the Croydon Boys street gang, was attacked at about 1am on Saturday. He was with friends in Croydon when a man got out a taxi and got involved in a fight with them, fatally knifing Nilanthan.
Local shop owner Ruban Mani, 26, said: 'His group was always hanging around here and causing trouble. They must have upset someone who lost their temper.
'Murali was all right, but his friends were bad boys. The people he was friends with wasted his life for no reason.'
The murder of the Sri Lankan Tamil, who was studying economics at Bromley College, has caused community leaders to appeal for calm.
Latest on the stabbing: The Metropolitan Police report on the death widely reported in the national broadcasting in London confirmed death of Nilanthan Murali is not gang related.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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