The heartbroken mother of a talented footballer fatally stabbed in a car park yards from his south west London home said she ‘wishes she had a magic wand’ to eradicate knife crime.
Theo Porteous, 36, died after Earl Morin-Britton stabbed him in the face neck and back in an unprovoked attack in August 2023.
He was sentenced to life at Kingston Crown Court on Monday, serving a minimum sentence of 27 years.
The victim’s mother Jeanette Porteous, who was in court for the sentencing, told Metro justice had been done but ‘nothing would bring back’ her ‘loving’ son.
She said: ‘The sentence gives me some sense of closure at least. Some people never get that. Of course nothing will bring my son back but at least his killer has been jailed.
‘I just wish I had a magic wand which I could wave to make knife crime go away. It’s terrible.’
Mrs Porteous said her ‘loving son’ had been a very talented footballer who was from a very close family.
She added: ‘He was very good at football, he loved his family. He was a lovely boy, he really was.’
The court had heard that Theo had been sitting in his vehicle in a car park near his Battersea home when Morin-Britton from Sutton, south London, approached.
As he got out of the car his killer pulled out a blade from the waistband of his trousers and launched an ‘unprovoked and senseless’ savage attack, even stabbing Theo in the face.
Passers by tried to save him and police and paramedics were scrambled to the car park but he died at the scene.
The Metropolitan Police said it gathered crucial CCTV evidence which helped convict the killer.
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Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley who led the investigation said after the sentencing hearing: ‘Morin-Britton murdered Theo in an unprovoked and senseless attack in broad daylight.
‘Theo was simply sitting in his car when Morin-Britton approached him, saying something which caused Theo to get out of the vehicle.
‘What he was tragically unaware of was that the defendant had in his possession a large knife which he then used to stab Theo numerous times.’
A memorial with flowers and letters spelling out THEO have been placed in the car park on Thessaly Road where the attack took place.
Former teammates of Theo at Old Thorntonians FC paid tribute to him after his death and wore black armbands in his memory.
The club said: ‘We remember former player Theo Porteous, who sadly, was fatally stabbed last week in Battersea. To pay tribute to Theo, today all teams, both home and away, will wear black armbands and observe a minute’s applause before their matches.’
Chief Inspector Jolley added: ‘Nothing will ever bring Theo back to his family but I do hope this outcome will give them some sense of closure.
‘Our investigation combined solid detective work with crucial CCTV evidence—enabling us to get justice for Theo’s family and take a very dangerous individual off the streets.’
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