Exclusive

Jamal Ringrose mum remembers son after Dollis Hill stabbing

2
Skip to next photo
1/1
Show caption
1/1
This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald.

The mother of a 15-year-old boy who died in hospital days after being stabbed has remembered him as "the light of her world."

Whitney Ringrose arrived at hospital to find "tubes coming all out of" her son, Jamal, after she learned he had been stabbed on Dudden Hill Lane, Dollis Hill, on the evening of May 30.

Jamal spent days in critical condition in hospital but remained "reactive with his eyes," giving Whitney a glimmer of hope.

She told London Now: "He was quite reactive with his eyes- You could speak to him, he would squint, he would blink. At one point he was shedding tears which was so heart-breaking to see.

"At that point it was like, maybe this is positive."

The 35-year-old said she "could feel it in her spirit" that her boy could hear him as she told him how brave he was and how he could "rest now."

Whitney said: "He shut his eyes instantly.

"It was the quickest he had shut them because throughout the day it was quite laboured.

"He went to sleep."

Jamal RingroseJamal's mother sat with him in hospital (Image: Metropolitan Police)

But hours later she claims something woke her up "hysterical," with Jamal having taken a turn for the worse.

She said: "I spent maybe an hour and a half speaking to him, talking to him, telling him how much I love him.

"How I know he’s tired and I’m very proud of him. How he’s been so brave and fought so much and I just love him dearly.

"And I’m going to miss him, I’m really going to miss him.

"It was hard because he was golden. He had a tan. It was lovely. He loved having a tan.

"Just seeing the colour drain from him… he just went cold."

Jamal died on June 4.

Remembering her son before his death, Whitney says he was a "big foodie" with a passion for music, often speaking of him in the present tense.

"Jamal is honestly the light of my world.

"He is the best thing that has ever happened to me, a true blessing from God."

She said: "Jamal always, since he was young, has had me in fits of laughter.

"He is a very bubbly character and very unique with a capital ‘U.’

"Jamal had the most beautiful smile and the warmest, welcoming eyes - the most beautiful brown eyes.

"He was taken way too soon."

But behind her son’s "bubbly" nature Whitney claims he had his own struggles, falling in with the wrong "company" and being connected to "drugs" whilst growing up in Brent.

She said: "He is Special Education Needs, he has ADHD, so how he views the world is slightly different.

"He would struggle with things like social cues and things like reading the room.

"It was only as he got a little bit older that he was able to actually take into consideration how people actually are.

"When he was younger, like Year 6, early high school, those kinds of ages, he was very very susceptible to the assumption that everybody is his friend. He was extremely vulnerable.

"All children are vulnerable but there was an additional layer of vulnerability with him because of his additional needs."

An investigation is ongoing.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and remanded in custody.

A further eight people have been arrested in connection to "wider disorder" surrounding the incident.

Two teenage boys have been charged with affray and possession of an offensive weapon.

Get involved
with the news

Send your news & photos