Teenager stabbed to death as girls brawl in the street

Here is the present and future of human female intra-sexual competition. Note what this all-female street mob fight was about.

by CHARLOTTE GILL, COLIN FERNANDEZ and DAN NEWLING — 20th June 2007, The Daily Mail (UK)

Murdered: Sian Simpson, 17, was stabbed to death as she intervened in a clash between two groups of girls

A schoolgirl was stabbed to death when a fight over a boyfriend escalated into a mass street brawl.

Sian Simpson, 18, was attacked as more than 20 friends of both girls, including a pregnant woman, fought a pitched battle “like a pack of animals”.

The A level student, who hoped to be an accountant, collapsed in the street and died of a single stab wound to the heart less than an hour later in hospital in Croydon, South London.

Her death follows a string of knife and gun murders of teenage boys in London, many of which are believed to have been the result of gang rivalries.

Police revealed that there had been problems with girl gangs in the area, but detectives do not believe the killing was gang-related.

The argument broke out shortly before 8pm on Tuesday in a residential road in Croydon.

The area is often used for filming the police drama, The Bill, and some residents thought they were watching an episode being acted out.

One witness said Sian was with her cousin Chantal, a mother-of-one, who was having an argument with a pregnant woman over who was the father of her unborn child.

She said: “They were screaming and shouting. One was saying, ‘At least I know who the father of my child is’.”

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Witnesses said Sian was hurt while intervening in a dispute

Friends leave flowers at the scene where 17-year-old Sian Simpson was stabbed to death

Another neighbour said: “It was all about this guy, and which baby he was the dad of.”

The pregnant woman is thought to have driven off in a red car before returning.

Sian Simpson’s devastated aunt, Cheryl Simpson 43, visits the murder scene in Croydon.

By this time a group of 20, mainly girls, had gathered.

One witness claimed she saw a young man run over and hand a knife to a girl in the crowd.

She said: “I saw the blade glinting in his hand. He handed it to this girl.

“I saw her pull her arm back and plunge it into her side. There was blood everywhere. Then it just went silent.

“The black girl took a couple of steps forward then went on her knees and crumpled on the floor.”

Another witness said: “It was like a massacre. It was really bad. It was like a pack of animals fighting.

“My mum did first aid on the girl. She was stabbed on her left side.

“She was conscious and in a lot of shock. She was holding her side, but there wasn’t a lot of blood.”

The victim was taken to Mayday Hospital in Croydon but was pronounced dead at 8.43pm.

Sian, whose parents are separated, was the oldest of five children and lived with her grandmother, Olive Watson.

Croydon stabbing: Two 18-year-old girls have been arrested in connection with the incident

Sian’s mother Julie Fairclough was being comforted by relatives.

Her father, 41-year- old Joseph Simpson, runs a courier business. He visited the scene of her death.

He said: “I’ve never cried so much in my life. It’s so shocking.

“In my day there was trouble and fights but I don’t remember girls killing girls.

“They pick these things up from TV. They have no morals and no regard for life.”

He added: “Sian was a good kid, she was bubbly, bright and she was beautiful.”

The dead girl’s aunt Cheryl Simpson, 43, said Sian had lined up an interview to work for an accountancy firm.

“She wanted to be an accountant. She wasn’t part of any gang.

The area has been plagued with problems of anti-social behaviour involving gangs of youths

“Sian was very much a family person, happy and outgoing.”

Miss Simpson added that she thought her niece had been ambushed.

“She walked into a trap. They wanted to do her damage and they did her the ultimate damage.”

Two 18-year-old girls were arrested at the scene and are being held at separate police stations in South London.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Scola said: “A large number of witnesses have come forward and they are currently being interviewed.

“There is no information to suggest that this tragic incident was gang-related as those involved all knew each other.”

Police have also played down suggestions that there was any race element to the brawl.

Earlier this year six teenagers died in knife attacks in Britain in one month.

MPs rushed through new legislation to tackle escalating gun and knife crime, but critics have warned that they will have little effect.

Alan Gordon, vice-chairman of the Police Federation, said that some youths had a “scant regard” for human life.