The death of Danny O’Shea: The celebrity Canning Town murder
CHRIS Nathaniel has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing to death Danny O’Shea in Canning Town, London. Mr Nathaniel is out on police bail. This story is front-page news in the Sun. Not because it is a take on the tabloid’s Broken Britain bollocks, rather it’s because Nathaniel “brokered a bar deal” between Chelsea and England footballer Ashley Cole and superstar rapper Jay-Z.
Also, Mr Nathaniel once worked as a director of Man United captain Rio Ferdinand’s youth foundation.
Details of the crime are sketchy. The Sun prefers to tell us about Mr Nathainel, who has not been charged with any crime, let alone tried. We are told:
Nathaniel, head of the NVA Entertainment Group, has been involved in a host of dazzling deals.
On the companys’s website, we learn that NVA “works closely with the Damilola Taylor Trust”, the fund set up in honour of the young boy stabbed to death in London.
The Sun overlooks this in favour of those “dazzling deals”:
Last year he brokered a multi-million pound tie-up between Jay-Z and Chelsea soccer star Ashley Cole to open a London branch of the US rapper’s 40/40 restaurant and bar franchise. He was also the middleman in a seven-figure book deal for Cole’s team-mate, England skipper John Terry — and claims to promote the world’s fastest athlete Usain Bolt.
Why mention what he claims? Aren’t deal – dazzling ones – a matter of record?
He claims to represent footballers including Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia and Birmingham City defender Curtis Davies.
The story is less about the death of a young man – Danny O’Shea was just 18 when he died in December 2011- and more about trying to finger football in a crime. The Sun adds:
Nathaniel and his pal were questioned at an East London police station over West Ham fan Danny’s murder after their arrest on Monday. They were later freed on bail until March pending further inquiries.
What team does Chris Nathaniel support? Shamefully, the Sun does not tell us. We can tell you that Jay-Z is an Arsenal fan. Such are the facts.
Deep into the news, the Sun reveals:
Several people were seen getting out of a white Ford Transit minibus on the night of the killing, clambering back inside it later. The vehicle bore red and blue lettering and the words “self-drive hire”. Although Danny’s attackers were black, according to police, his mum Julie insisted the killing was not racially motivated.
We then get a quote from Danny’s mum, not named, which sounds pitifuly feeble in light of her son’s apparent murder:
She said Danny “was a popular boy with friends from all cultural backgrounds”.
Define popular.
Nathaniel, whose business is based in London’s Canary Wharf, seems keen on posting cryptic messages on social networking websites. The day before his arrest, he wrote: “Dnt surrender dnt give in persevere no matter how difficult ur life is with perseverance u will get thru anything!”
Blimey. That is cryptic. It’s hard to find any reference to Danny O’Shea unless you jumble up all the letters and chuck in a football shirt.
Here are some facts the Sun omits to mention:
On December 4 2011, two days after the stabbing, a 43-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Mr O’Shea’s mother is called Julie Brewer. She said:
“We are devastated by what has happened to Danny and we are still trying to come to terms with it. We do not know why such a terrible thing happened, but what we do know is that this is not racially motivated as Danny was a popular boy with friends from all cultural backgrounds. We do not want to see any local retribution and just urge anyone with any information to come forward to the police.”
It sounds lot like Mrs Brewer is being coached by the on-message police to mention the racial element and then to discount it.
Det Ch Insp John MacDonald had previously said:
“We are keeping an open mind regarding the motive for the attack, however, I wish to reinforce the family’s position that there is nothing to suggest Danny’s murder is racially motivated.”
But why discount it, then? Do the police have closed minds on certain crimes?
Detective Chief Inspector John Macdonald of the Homicide & Serious Crime Command said:
“We believe that the victim may have been chased by a group of black males from Butchers Road at the junction of Hooper Road down into Boreham Avenue.
The area would have been quite busy on a Friday evening, and we need anyone who saw anything suspicious to call us.”
Eleven people have now been arrested. All have been released on police bail.
On 4 December 2011 a (then) 43-year-old man [A – now 44] was arrested and taken to an east London police station. He was later bailed to return – next due in April 2012.
On 5 December 2011 a 32-year-old man [B] was arrested and taken to a west London police station. He was later bailed to return in mid-Feb. 2012 pending further inquiries.
On 9 December 2011 a 31-year-old man [C] was arrested in the Battersea area and taken to an east London police station. He was later bailed to return to an east London police station in late January 2012 pending further enquiries.
On 14 December 2011 four men [D – aged 29; E – aged 22; F – aged 29; G – aged 34] were arrested at an address in the Isleworth area. They were later bailed to return in February 2012 pending further enquiries.
On 20 December 2011 a man [H – aged 23] was arrested in the West Midlands. He was later bailed to return in February 2012 pending further enquiries.
On 21 January 2012 a 29-year-old man [I] was arrested at an address in Middlesex on suspicion of murder. He was later bailed to return in late March, pending further enquiries.
On 23 January 2012 two men, one aged 39 [J] and the other 33 [K], were arrested at Heathrow airport on suspicion of murder nd are currently in custody.
Posted: 25th, January 2012 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink
