The manager of a south London hotel tried in vain to save the life of a 15-year-old girl that was stabbed to death with a ‘sword-like knife’ on her way to school, according to her colleague.
The manager on duty at the Leonardo Hotel on Wellesley Road, over the road from where the stabbing took place, had finished her shift when the stabbing took place.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, the manager’s colleague, who took over the front desk, Beldine Kutima, 26, said that her boss came rushing back into the hotel after she saw the bloody ordeal .
Beldine explained that her manager, called Malaika, demanded “towels” when she came in from the bus stop and then “ran out with it”.
According to Beldine, her boss “saw blood” and “was just in shock” after attempting to save the teenage girl, who was a pupil at Old Palace of John Whitgift school, a private girls’ school nearby.
Describing her anguish at the situation that unfolded just yards from the front door of her place of work, the hotel employee said: “It’s devastating, I can’t even do my job properly. It’s scary.”
Reflecting on the young age of the victim, she added: “Imagine, they were just going to school. Oh my god, my brain can’t think.”
Beldine also told The Telegraph: “One of our duty managers went to get the bus but she came back in screaming and grabbing towels from the back room.
“She ran out there with bin bags and towels. She was crying and in shock – she needed painkillers after.”
Although exactly what took place remains unclear, eye witnesses report that an altercation between two boys started on a bus before spilling out onto the Croydon street.
The teenage girl, who is said to have broken up with her boyfriend the day prior, is then believed to have shunned flowers from him before she was stabbed in the neck.
The precise location of the incident is yet to be confirmed by police, but a white tent was erected a few yards from the stationary bus it is believed the schoolgirl was on.
Following the stabbing, an arrest has been made.
Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain, in charge of local policing, said: “Our immediate thoughts are with this young girl’s family who are facing the most tragic of news. Our officers are with the girl’s family to support them.
“I am in contact with the local community, who are clearly as concerned as we are about this tragic incident. I shall continue to update them throughout the day. My officers were immediately on scene to provide first aid and support paramedics.”
He added: “Acting on information provided to them, officers also worked closely with colleagues from across the Met and the British Transport Police to track a teenager in connection with the stabbing. I can confirm that an arrest was made at about 09:45hrs in the Croydon area. At this early stage we believe that he may have known her.
“A crime scene will be in place for some time, and I am grateful for the cooperation of residents.”
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