Family plea for information 10 years after Bethnal Green stabbing

Ten years after Russell 'Barty' Brown was fatally stabbed in Bethnal Green, his family is making a renewed appeal for information. Mr Brown, a 26-year-old labourer from Bow, was stabbed on September 10, 2016, at Nelson Gardens. The incident followed a fight that began at a party in a nearby maisonette and moved into the courtyard.

London's Air Ambulance transported Mr Brown to Royal London Hospital, where he died on September 11, 2016. He had been due to undergo surgery to donate a kidney to his ill aunt, having received medical clearance the day before the stabbing.

Family's search for justice

Russell's sister, Emma Brown, described the moment she learned of the attack. "She said 'you need to come now'," Ms Brown recounted, referring to the police officer who informed her. "I pushed her and eventually she told me Russell had been stabbed, when people say, ‘the whole world spins around’, it really does."

Ms Brown stated that her brother was not involved with gangs or knives. She and her parents rushed to the hospital to say their final goodbyes. Grant Carpenter, 34, and his brother Lee, 27, both from the Nelson Gardens estate, were later found not guilty of Mr Brown's murder following a three-week trial.

"It’s so hard to move on, especially because you don’t have justice," Ms Brown told This Is Local London. "My daughter is 13 now, she was three at the time, and she now knows what happened. When she asks who got in trouble for his death, I have to say no-one."

Ms Brown added that the stabbing had a significant impact on the family, including her aunt, who died last July after living with kidney problems for over a decade. Doctors were unable to find another kidney donor for her after Russell's death. "That one tragic event had a domino effect for so much more," Ms Brown said.

Appeal for witnesses

Russell's parents have maintained his bedroom as it was at the time of his death. Ms Brown visits Nelson Gardens annually to lay flowers. As the 10th anniversary approaches, the family is urging anyone with information to contact the police. "Ten years is a very long time, and people’s circumstances and loyalties can change," Ms Brown stated. "Someone who may have felt unable or afraid to speak out in 2016 might now feel able to come forward."

The family hopes that individuals who may have knowledge of the events of September 10, 2016, will now feel willing to speak to the authorities. "If you know anything: just speak, it’s been long enough," Ms Brown pleaded. "This is somebody’s brother, someone’s son, someone’s uncle. It’s not fair that we won’t get justice and it’s what my brother deserves, he deserves justice."