'I'm basically famous now': The innocent caption Jodie Chesney posted on the day she visited 10 Downing Street months before she was brutally stabbed in the back in a park in Romford
What kind of girl was Jodie Chesney?
One photograph in particular answers that question.
It was posted on her Instagram account on the second Sunday of November last year; Remembrance Sunday, in other words.
Jodie is standing on the steps of 10 Downing Street in her scouts uniform – with a poppy pinned to her khaki shirt.
She was part of a small group selected to represent the movement at events to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice.
‘I’m basically famous now,’ she wrote under the picture. ‘This was such a good opportunity and so much fun.’
On the same day, Jodie was filmed during the BBC’s broadcast of the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall and can be seen lining the walkway of the Chelsea Pensioners as they came on stage.
Jodie Chesney, 17, (circled in red) is stood next to Explorer Scouts at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2018. Just months later she would be stabbed to death in a London park
Jodie was stabbed to death as she sat on park bench with her boyfriend Eddie Coyle, 18, in the east London suburb of Harold Hill in Romford
A friend of Jodie's said she was ‘the nicest, loveliest, kindest person you could meet with everything to look forward to in life'
She had been a ranger in the Girls Guides before progressing to become an Explorer Scout, a section of the Scouts for 14-to-18-year-olds, which some youngsters might not consider to be ‘cool’ these days. Jodie was ‘cool.’
But she was also – to quote someone who knew her – ‘the nicest, loveliest, kindest person you could meet with everything to look forward to in life.’
The fact you are now reading about her in the past tense is not just a tragedy but a scandal that shames our country.
On Friday, Jodie was stabbed to death as she sat on park bench with her boyfriend Eddie Coyle, 18, in the east London suburb of Harold Hill in Romford.
She was just 17; the latest casualty of the knife crime epidemic sweeping ‘Wild West Britain.’
Jodie Chesney was stabbed in the back and lay bleeding to death in a park on Friday night. Her boyfriend comforted her as neighbours of the park ran over to try and save her
Last night, Scotland Yard provided new and disturbing details about the murder, but provided no clues as to the potential motive.
Jodie was with a group of five other teenagers, playing music and socialising in the park. They said they noticed ‘two males’ enter the park – without interacting with Jodie or her party. No words were exchanged.
They left at about 9pm but returned around 30 minutes later, walking straight towards them, where one of the suspects, described as black and in his late teens, stabbed Jodie once in the back before running off. Among floral tributes at the scene was one which read: ‘Jodie, we love you. You are so amazing. We will always remember you.’
Reports over the weekend described her as an ‘innocent’ victim which has become a cliche to describe almost everyone who loses their life in such terrible circumstances; maybe so; but surely no one could have been more innocent than Jodie. She was from a loving family; she was studying for her A-levels; she loved photography; she had a Yorkshire terrier called Woody, who is pictured with her on her social media, and, of course, she was a Scout – ‘a Scout has self-respect and respect for others,’ all those who join the organisation are
