Youth in court over fatal machete attack on Walthamstow schoolboy

Renell Charles, 16, was killed last Friday in east London.

Renell Charles, 16, who was stabbed to death last Friday afternoon (Met Police/PA) (PA Media)

A youth has appeared in court accused of fatally stabbing a schoolboy with a machete in front of fellow pupils.

Renell Charles, 16, a pupil at Kelmscott School in Walthamstow, east London, was killed last Friday afternoon in what police described as a “brutal attack”.

It happened close to the school on Markhouse Road shortly after the end of the day, and was witnessed by other students and passers-by.

Renell had left school and was walking along the road when his attacker allegedly got out of a taxi and ran towards him, assaulted him and knocked him to the ground.

The attacker then chased Renell, pulled out a large machete and stabbed him several times, it is claimed.

Police and medics were called to the scene but the victim could not be saved.

A post-mortem examination identified two particularly significant injuries – a fatal wound to the chest and a deep stab to the back.

A 16-year-old youth, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, walked into Forest Gate police station on May 8 and was later charged with murder.

On Thursday, he appeared at the Old Bailey for a preliminary hearing by video link from Feltham Young Offenders Institute.

Judge Nigel Lickley set a timetable for the case with a plea hearing on July 27 and a provisional 10-day trial from January 22 2024.

Setting out the allegation, he told the defendant: “The facts of this case as described by the prosecution are that you in the middle of the afternoon on May 5 armed with a machete got out of a taxi and attacked Renell Charles who had just left his school in Walthamstow.”

The defendant was further remanded into custody.

Previously, headteacher Sam Jones said the attack marked the “darkest of days” for the school community, adding: “A Kelmscott student was tragically killed in a senseless knife attack.

“Kelmscott is a large and tight-knit family and this loss will be felt for a long time to come.”