A teenage girl who acted as a "honey trap" to lure her new boyfriend to his death at the hands of a violent gang was found guilty of murder yesterday.

Samantha Joseph, now 16, was only 15 when she lured Shakilus Townsend into a cul-de-sac in Thornton Heath, south London, where he was ambushed by a gang of teenage boys wielding knives and a baseball bat.

Mr Townsend, 16, died after gang member Daniel McLean fatally stabbed him in the chest, piercing his liver, the Press Association reported.

Mr McLean, Ms Joseph and five other gang members were found guilty of murder after a three-month trial at the Old Bailey.

All bar one were under 17 at the time of the attack and all had denied murder. They will be sentenced at a later date.

Ms Joseph had admitted setting Mr Townsend up but said she did not realise he would be seriously hurt.

She had been going out with Mr McLean for 18 months but split up after he discovered she was also dating Mr Townsend.

While Mr Townsend was said to be besotted with Ms Joseph, she was still keen on Mr McLean, and agreed to help him attack Mr Townsend when he found out about the relationship.

On the day of the murder in July last year, Ms Joseph travelled with Mr Townsend by bus to Thornton Heath before taking him up the cul-de-sac where he falsely believed he would meet her cousin.

CCTV images released by police showed her using her phone on the bus to call Mr McLean. As Mr Townsend lay bleeding to death, CCTV pictures showed her and Mr McLean calmly walking away. A post mortem found Mr Townsend had suffered a broken arm and at least four stab wounds.

"This is an absolutely tragic case, where a young boy has been viciously attacked simply for liking the wrong girl," said Detective Inspector Barney Ratcliffe.

"Even though she knew her relationship with Shakilus was putting him in danger, Samantha Joseph carried on and when the point of no return arrived, she knowingly and callously led him to his death."

Mr Townsend's mother Nicola Dyer said her family was devastated by her son's murder but said it was comforting that justice had been done by the convictions.

"Shakilus's death was a senseless, premeditated murder, and nobody deserves to die in the appalling way that my son did," she said."

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