Son killed "for not changing to Islam"...

Taken from

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/05/nshot05.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/01/05/ixhome.html

Son killed 'for not changing to Islam'
By Catriona Davies
(Filed: 05/01/2006)

A mother described yesterday hearing her son shot dead after he refused to convert to Islam.


Ruth Marriott told an inquest into her son's death that she heard gunshots on the day Adrian was shot five times in the head a few weeks before his 21st birthday.

Mr Marriott, an accountancy student and gang member, was killed in a park near his home in Brixton, south London, in June 2004.

Three members of a rival gang, known as the Muslim Boys, were cleared in September last year of conspiracy to murder Mr Marriott after the prosecution offered no evidence at the Old Bailey.

His mother told the inquest at Southwark Coroners' Court yesterday: "We heard the shooting. We heard gun fire.

"The thought did strike me that Adrian could be involved, but it was a fleeting thought. Then we heard from police the following evening what had happened.

"Adrian was told on the Sunday prior to his death that he would be killed if he did not become a Muslim by the Wednesday, which was the day he died."

Asked by the coroner, John Sampson, whether her son had taken the threat seriously, Mrs Marriott said: "I do not think he did."

She said she had last seen him on the afternoon he was killed.

"He was happy. He was pestering me to order something for him out of my catalogue," she said. "Adrian was very much a family man."

The coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.

Det Sgt John Stafford, who led the murder investigation, told the inquest that he was still searching for evidence to convict Mr Marriott's killers.

He said: "It does indeed remain a live matter. We are still keen to talk to witnesses."

15 December 2005: Feral street gang who killed for kicks

 

Another article on same story:

http://www.lse.co.uk/ShowStory.asp?story=LJ421202D&news_headline=student_killed_for_refusing_to_convert_to

UK News | Showbiz News
Student killed "for refusing to convert to Islam"

Wednesday, 4th January 2006, 15:23
Category: Crime and Punishment

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LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - A heartbroken mother today described how her son was executed after he refused to convert to Islam.

Accountancy student Adrian Marriott was shot by a rival gang five times in the head at close range in June 2004, a few weeks before his 21st birthday.

Three members of the gang, known as the 'Muslim Boys', were accused of plotting the murder after trying to convert Adrian, a member of south London's 'Peel Den Crew', to Islam.

But Marcus Archer, Aaron Irving-Simpson and Marlon Stubbs, all 24, were found not guilty of conspiracy to murder at the Old Bailey after the prosecution offered no evidence.

Speaking at an inquest at Southwark Coroner's Court, the victim's mother, Ruth Marriott, said she heard her son being gunned down in the park where he walked his dog.

She said: "We heard the shooting. We heard gun fire. The thought did strike me that Adrian could be involved, but it was a fleeting thought. Then we heard from police the following evening what had happened.

"Adrian was told on the Sunday prior to his death that he would be killed if he did not become a Muslim by the Wednesday, which was the day he died."

Asked by Coroner John Sampson whether Adrian had taken the threat seriously she added: "I do not think he did."

Struggling to hold back tears she said the last time she had seen her son was in the afternoon on the day before he was killed.

She said: "He was happy. He was pestering me to order something for him out of my catalogue."

She added that Adrian loved his family very much.

She said: "He liked music and football, but Adrian was very much a family man. He also loved his dog. They would go out together regularly to the park that he died in."

Adrian was found in Barrington Road, Brixton. A post mortem revealed he had died from multiple firearms wounds to the head. The coroner today recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.

He said: "He was found dead having clearly been subjected to an attack with a firearm. I'm going to conclude that he was unlawfully killed."

Detective Sergeant John Stafford, of Operation Trident, who led the murder hunt, told the inquest that Adrian's murder was still under investigation.

He said: "It does indeed remain a live matter. We are effectively reviewing what happened at court and still keen to talk to witnesses."

During the trial in September 2005, the jury were told that Stubbs and Archer had professed to have a 'missionary zeal' for converting people to Islam and had targeted Adrian, his sister Tara and her friend Jade Okai.

The two women had agreed to become Muslims, had made a declaration of faith and had been given hijabs, or headscarfs, the court was told.

But Adrian, of Swinford Gardens on the Angel Town Estate in Brixton, had fallen out with the men, claiming he was threatened and had had a £500 'tax' demanded from him.

After the three were formally acquitted of conspiracy to murder, Archer was jailed for eight years for firearms offences he had admitted earlier.

It was also revealed to the jury that Stubbs is currently serving a four year prison sentence for rape