Boy, 15, Is Stabbed To Death On His Way Home From Night At Cinema.

The latest teenage victim of the continuing spiral of youth murders may have been chased off a London bus by his knife-wielding attackers, police said yesterday. Adam Regis, 15, who was a nephew of the former Olympic athlete John Regis, died after being assaulted on Saturday night as he returned home from a trip to the cinema with a group of friends.

Adam, who was exceptionally tall for his age and wearing distinctive white Nike trainers, left the bus in Plaistow, East London, a mile before it reached his usual stop.

Detectives are investigating the possibility that he was trying to get away from his killers. They are scouring CCTV footage from the 104 bus route, which runs between Beckton and Stratford, and have made a detailed examination of the bus stop where he alighted.

Adam was found at 9.26pm, unconscious and bleeding heavily from head and leg wounds, in Kingsland Road, a quiet street close to West Ham United’s football stadium.
An ambulance took him to Newham General Hospital where emergency surgery was performed but he never regained consciousness and died shortly before 11pm. Last night Scotland Yard said that a postmortem examination showed that he had died from a stab wound to the chest and abdomen.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Stevenson, who is heading the inquiry, said: “My thoughts are for the family, for his mother. It’s Mother’s Day today, it must be absolutely dreadful for her.” He said that two black youths in grey hooded tops had been seen running away from Adam. “We are also making inquiries to establish whether anything happened earlier in the evening between the victim and potential suspects that may have led to him being attacked.”

Sandra Wynands, 59, found Adam lying in the street as she walked home with her granddaughter. “There was a young boy lying on the ground and there were two other boys standing there who said they saw him just walk around the corner and fall down. I thought the boy had had a fit and had collapsed and hurt his head. There was blood, quite a lot of blood, coming from around his head. I didn’t want my granddaughter to see it so I made her stand and face the wall.”

A police source said: “To our knowledge the victim had no connection with any gang or any involvement in crime. He was a good boy from a good home.”

John Regis said of Adam: “He was just a great kid growing up, enjoying life and unfortunately it was stolen from him. I am devastated.” He confirmed that Adam had gone out to see a film. “On the way back obviously something happened. He appears to have been stabbed or there was bleeding. There was a lot of blood . . . His mum saw him probably a couple of hours prior to this unfortunate incident. My brother [Adam’s father] saw him or spoke to him in the past week because they are not living together. He keeps in contact with Adam.”

Adam was a pupil at Brampton Manor school, near where he was killed. Messages left by his friends at the spot spoke of a popular boy who would be much missed. A girl in his class left a bouquet of flowers with a note that read “RIP, love Sarah, you will be missed”. Another girl added: “Adam was never the sort of guy who would go looking for trouble.”

A floral tribute left close to the bus stop on Boundary Road read: “RIP Adam. You was a great friend of mine and you have gone to a much better place. I will miss you. Reiss D.”

A 15-year-old boy, who left flowers “as a mark of respect”, said: “You always see a lot of fighting outside the school and all my mates know people who carry knives . . . I am scared when I’m outside school and I make sure I don’t walk home on my own.”

Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat leader, called for tougher sentences for carrying knives. He said: “[It] should be made the same as that for carrying a gun.”

Adam was from one of Britain’s foremost sporting families. His cousins include Cyrille Regis, the former England football player, Jason Roberts, the Blackburn Rovers forward, and Yasmine Regis, a triple jumper.