Murder is probe launched after man, 22, dies six years after he was attacked outside a supermarket - leaving him needing round-the-clock care

A man has been charged with the murder of a 22-year-old man who died more than six years after being stabbed in a fight outside a supermarket.

Jamel Boyce suffered severe brain damage after being wounded in the attack outside a branch of Sainsbury's in Clapham, south London, in October 2016.

The then-17-year-old was left blind, paralysed and unable to speak, and died at a care home in Streatham Hill, south-east London, last February, aged 22.

His cause of death was ruled, after a post-mortem examination, to be a penetrating injury to the chest.

A police investigation immediately after the attack led to a man being jailed for grievous bodily harm with intent.

A new inquiry was opened after Mr Boyce's death.

Tyrese Osei-Kofi, 24, of no fixed address, has been charged with murder and is due to appear at Croydon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday December 27.

Jamel's family has been informed of this development and they continue to be supported by officers.

Previously, Jamel's family released pictures of him fighting for his life in the hopes it would prevent others from committing knife crime. 

Pansy Boyce, mother of Jamel Boyce, said at the time it was 'impossible' to describe the pain her family was suffering, but hoped the distressing image of the 17-year-old lying unconscious in a hospital bed would show the devastating impact of knife crime.

Mrs Boyce said: 'It is impossible to describe the pain our family is suffering at this time as our son lies in hospital fighting for his life.

'It breaks my heart to release this picture of Jamel but it shows plainly the devastating impact that carrying and using a knife can have.

'I would hate for any other mother or family to go through what we are going through right now. If you know what happened, and who did this to my son, please look into your conscience and speak to police.'

 His father, Patrick, added: 'Jamel is a very loving son, who is kind and considerate always putting others before himself. This should never have happened to Jamel.'

Jamel, a business student at St Francis Xavier College in Clapham, was at a McDonald's on Clapham High Street when there was a dispute with the people he was with at around 3pm on October 14, police said.

Four hours later the teenager was attacked in a road around 200 yards from the fast food chain.

Detective Sergeant Paul Graves, of Lambeth CID, said: 'From speaking to witnesses it now appears that the incident in which Jamel received his injuries would have appeared innocuous at first glance and people may not have realised he had been stabbed.

'We know Jamel was involved in an altercation involving four other males adjacent to a Sainsbury's supermarket car park in Triangle Place.

'Members of the public often use this route to access the supermarket and it may be that people have witnessed what appeared to be a minor scuffle and dismissed it as a trivial event.

'However, Jamel has received injuries that have left him critically ill and I would appeal to anyone who was in the vicinity at around 1900hrs that evening to come forward and speak to police.'