Danny and Rickie Preddie, aged 18 and 19, from Peckham, south London, were convicted of the manslaughter of the 10-year-old at an Old Bailey retrial.

Damilola bled to death from a leg wound in Peckham in 2000. The Preddies will be sentenced at a later date.

Damilola's parents said it was "great comfort that justice finally has been done for Damilola. We pray his gentle soul can now rest in peace".

The Preddie brothers had been cleared earlier this year of murder and assault.

After the verdicts were read out, Rickie Preddie started shouting at the jury.

He shouted: "You are corrupt. You are nothing." He was eventually taken out of court on the order of the judge.

You are corrupt... you are nothing Rickie Preddie to the jury Six-year trail to conviction

The brothers, 12 and 13 at the time, were arrested a few days after Damilola was killed.

But vital leads were missed by a forensic laboratory and investigators. The brothers were questioned but released without charge.

One was being monitored by the probation service and the other was on bail and detained at a children's home.

They were re-arrested last year when the blood and fibres from Damilola were found on their clothing.

Commander Dave Johnston, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "Today justice has finally been reached for Damilola.

His violent death in 2000 sent shockwaves throughout London and beyond Commander Dave Johnston Damilola blood spots 'missed'

"His violent death in 2000 sent shockwaves throughout London and beyond.

"For his family it was a very personal tragedy played out in a very public arena and I would like to acknowledge the courage and dignity with which Gloria and Richard Taylor have supported us throughout the police investigations."

Lawyer Tony Connell, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "We are all pleased to have been able to provide justice to the parents, family and friends of Damilola Taylor.

"They have borne the dreadful suffering since the death of this fine young man with immense strength and we have all been grateful for their support throughout this case."

Robbery convictions

The jury was told the brothers had convictions for robbery, some at knifepoint, and witnesses claimed the brothers had confessed to the killing.

A friend of Damilola, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police he thought Danny Preddie may have come off worse in a fight with Damilola, who had broken his gold chain.

The youth, who is now 18, told the court that he once witnessed Danny asking Damilola if he had a cigarette - then taking a swing at him.

Damilola was surrounded by a gang of youths in Blakes Road, Peckham, as he made his way from an after-school club at Peckham library to his home on the run-down North Peckham Estate.

Someone broke a small green beer bottle, leaving a shard of glass which was used to stab Damilola in his left thigh. By the time he limped along the road and up two flights of a filthy stairwell, he was near death.

At a trial earlier this year the Preddie brothers were cleared of murder but the jury could not decide on the manslaughter charge. The retrial began in June.

Another defendant, Hassan Jihad, 20, also from Peckham, was cleared of all charges following the three-month trial held in April.

Four other youths, all aged under 18, stood trial at the Old Bailey in 2002 but were found not guilty

Robot  Villager

# 1 Two teenage brothers have been found guilty of killing Damilola Taylor....Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 09.08.2006 14:43

Auspicious  Villager

# 2 "Justice is the constant and perpetual will to allot to every man his due." - Domitus Ulpian (100 AD - 228 AD) It took this long, but justice appears to have prevailed. Again. Posted by Auspicious| 09.08.2006 15:13

Fjord  Villager

# 3 Well, they escaped murder and got taken for manslaughter; some measure of justice. Let's now await the sentencing. Five years. All through the trials, police officers and men and women* of the law have commended the dignity, strength and courage of the late boy's parents. They'll need more of that at the sentencing. Sigh. *originally:woman Hat tip to AJ . Posted by Fjord| 09.08.2006 15:49

gwobezentashi  Villager

# 4 They took that innocent boy away from his future and his family. They have been suffering since the day of their act. They will never rest because the boy will continue to prey on their minds, yet he is resting. God will continue to punish the evil and those who help them to cover up their evil. Continue to Rest in Peace Damilola. Your parents have insisted and have fought a heroic battle. These killers will never have peace wherever they go like all killers everywhere. Posted by gwobezentashi| 09.08.2006 15:59

VOR  Villager

# 5 Justice at last for the Taylor family. It saddens me that two young black boys are responsible for this killing, three young black boys lives wasted!! Lets hope the Met police and Crown Prosecution Service pursue with the same amount of vigour the Stephen Lawrence case and the killers put behind bars where they rightly belong!! The Taylor family fled Nigeria for a better life in the UK only to have their son killed....another victim of the corrupt irresponsible leadership we have in Nigeria. How many more???? Posted by VOR| 09.08.2006 18:25

WaleAkin  Villager

# 6 Each time i see Richard Taylor (Damilola Taylor's Dad) at the Emukay Restaurant on Camberwell Road owned by Elder Tunji Oyelana (Suura De Tailor), i always feel a piercing pain within me as this is a man who has a holistic courage. I saw him again about three weeks ago when we all gathered around the table of the Kongi, Prof Wole Soyinka to make him sign copies of his recent book You Must set forth at dawn: A memoir, Richard sat down not very far from the Kongi having a sip of his brand of beer, Shine Shine Bobo (Star Larger Beer), i watched him with deep thoughts not knowing that good justice awaits him on the premature death of his son in about a month's time and here we are today with the justice. Peckham has changed drastically, ever since the death of this lovely boy, North Peckham Estate where he was killed has been demolished and new apartments built, North Peckham Estate is one of the most expensive surburbs in London now, right from the Peckham Library on Peckham Hill Road to Queens Road, Peckham Rye and some part of Camberwell New Road adjoining onto Southhampton Way, the death of Damilola Taylor has virtually changed the whole of Peckham. I salute the courage of Gloria and Richard Taylor, damilola's parents as they have both showed us that Nigerians are truly brave even in times of trouble and sad moments, even when they are opportuned to talk on TV, they never curse the killers but have only asked for the perfect peace of their slain son. When the Preddie brothers are eventually sentenced in a forthnight, it can not bring back Damilola but will only remind us all of man's inhumanity to man. Sleep on beloved Damilola..............Sleep on Baby boy!! I leave the all time bereaved family with this hymn: WHEN PEACE LIKE A RIVER ATTENDED MY WAY WHEN SORROWS LIKE SEAS BILLOWS ROLL WHATEVER MY LOT, THOU HAS TAUGHT ME TO SAY IT IS WELL, IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL Refrain: IT IS WELL/2X WITH MY SOUL/2X IT IS WELL/2X WITH MY SOUL Cheers, WaleAkin Posted by WaleAkin| 09.08.2006 20:40

Lemmuel Odjay  Villager

# 7 Prayers answered! Twice or thrice every week, I used to pay Dami private visits at the King's College (Guy's Campus), where a room had been donated in his memory by the KCL's Neuroscience Society. A bust of him smiling rests on a pedestal inside a third floor room at the Hodgkin Building, complete with medical reference books neatly stacked on a shelf with a huge table surrounded by chairs in the middle of the room for the use of medical students from underpriviledged backgrounds. Outside the room just above the door, his name was engraved in bold letters. In life, he'd hoped to become a medical practitioner some day. Before leaving, I'd spend about a minute or two gazing at his young face and praying they'd find his killers soon. I was, therefore, gladdened at the news that a conviction had been secured against those responsible for his brutal murder. They turned out to be young local urchins raised in a society where parents are perpetually in bars while their little ones are left with no other option than roam the streets till very late at night. God grant Dami's parents the fortitude to bear his loss. May his soul rest in peace, Amen. Posted by Lemmuel Odjay| 09.08.2006 22:32

emj  Villager

# 8 Hmmmmmmmmm---how in the world did the Met and the Govt forensic lab missed crucial clues/evidence is what beats me. It had to be a private lab that finally nailed the killers with darming evidences that where overlooked. Watched Dami's parents on BBC and listened to the speech read by his Dad---it's so unfortunate that their son's life was cut short. Thank God that beauty yet came out of the loss----things done for the neighbourhood in memory of Dami, and a final closure to a traumatic case. May Damilola Taylor's soul rest in perfect peace---Amen Posted by emj| 09.08.2006 23:22

Fjord  Villager

# 9 WaleAkin wrote: Peckham has changed drastically, ever since the death of this lovely boy, North Peckham Estate where he was killed has been demolished and new apartments built, North Peckham Estate is one of the most expensive surburbs in London now, right from the Peckham Library on Peckham Hill Road to Queens Road, Peckham Rye and some part of Camberwell New Road adjoining onto Southhampton Way, the death of Damilola Taylor has virtually changed the whole of Peckham. WaleAkin, interesting personal notes. Interesting. But I will have to disagree some with you about Peckham. Last time I was in the UK, less than three months ago, I'd gone to see the famous Peckham Library; my main interest was the award-winning architectural design, but I'd been interested in seeing the insides of the library too. My chats with several people about the use of the library was interesting, but my visit came to an abrupt end: with me standing less than 500 metres from the library one evening, someone was knifed at the bus stop. The fellow died. Now, not that that's the strangest thing to happen in the UK, I was told, but it brought back memories of a young boy bleeding to death. Perhaps Peckam has changed economically since the murder of Damilola Taylor, but there is still fear on the streets, and especially when death could come because a fellow waiting to catch a bus had to be relieved of their mobile phone. A city may be beautiful and expensive, but it takes more to reform the people in a place than it takes to raise the cost of property . Posted by Fjord| 10.08.2006 02:15

WaleAkin  Villager

# 10 Fjord, Good Points i must admit!! I dont live in that part of London, we only go there atleast once or twice monthly to do our African shopping and also to the local Restaurants just to have a feel of Naija when all these Oyibo food don bore you! Now you cant compare South East London most especially areas like Peckham, New Cross, Deptford, Nunhead, Camberwell and almighty Brixton with what they used to be say about five years ago, the level of moral decandence within Peckham and its millieu was so high most especially on Peckham Rye. Its has been in the regeneration plan to demolish the notorious North Peckham Estate but Taylor's death sped it up. Now coming back to the issue of the boy that was knifed when about to board Bus 63, this does not only happen in Peckham, the rich environ of Wembley recently witnessed this act when an off duty policewoman was knifed to death. Peckham has been associated with violence but we all need to drop the stigma and look at the better prospect this community will offer in the next five years. The UK government caused these problems, in the early 90s when the level of asylum seeking was still high, the government made gross mistakes by concentrating all asylum seekers in a particular environment instead of being spread about town, we are presently having the same problem somewhere in Woolwich where we have a very high concentration of Somali refugees and these Somali boys have become a societal nuisance just as we used and still have Black African-Carribean boys knifing folks to death in Peckham. I must admit that despite the social regeneration in this part of London, we cannot but still witness a few isolated cases as seen by you. Cheers, WaleAkin Posted by WaleAkin| 10.08.2006 04:35

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