Anger and tears as family grieve for murdered teenager

Anthony Walker was pursued and brutally cut down by his attackers.

Anthony Walker played basketball from daylight to dusk under a net that hung from the flat roof of his family's garage. He had won trials for England youth and had formed a local team to keep children off the streets.

Yesterday, the net was gone, and so was Anthony.

The 18-year-old, who had planned a career in law, was murdered in what British police described as a racist attack, during which his head was split open with an axe.

While waiting for a bus in Huyton, Liverpool, with his white girlfriend and a cousin on Friday night, Walker was subjected to a "torrent of racial abuse", say police.

He took a shortcut across a park to avoid confrontation but was followed there by his assailants and hit with such force that the axe embedded itself into his forehead. He died in hospital soon afterwards.

The murder carries chilling echoes of the death of Stephen Lawrence in April 1993.

Both were 18-year-old black students killed while waiting with friends at a bus-stop.

Stephen's death was marked by a catalogue of police failings that changed the way officers deal with race-hate crime.

Merseyside Police have evidently learned from past mistakes. Within 12 hours of the murder, Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Lawson was leading appeals for help.

Two youths, aged 18 and 17, have been arrested in connection with the murder after search warrants were executed at addresses in Huyton.

The devastation caused by both deaths was the same, though. The Walker family's sense of loss was graphically communicated by Anthony's sister Dominique, 20.

She shook with anger as she pleaded for help in catching the individual responsible for killing "my brother, my 18-year-old brother. He was a devoted Christian. He sang, he danced, he played in a band."

Outside in the garden were reminders of Anthony's 18 years at this unpretentious house: a rusting yellow swing, a mountainbike and a football.

Dominique clutched handwritten notes that her mother, Gee Verona, 49, a gospel choir singer and teacher, had intended to read but, in the final reckoning, just could not summon the strength.

Gee Verona made her feeling towards her son's killer evident four hours earlier, describing it as "on a level" with that of Stephen Lawrence.

Anthony was one year into college courses in law, IT and media at the Carmel College in St Helens. He was an outstanding sportsman, playing football as well as basketball, and an avid Arsenal fan. His great ambition was to attend law school.

By virtue of his height and his big smile, Anthony was an unmistakable figure on the Barratt estate in Huyton.

A previous girlfriend, Genna, had also been white and they had only separated at Christmas because their long and intense relationship had run its course.

"They just spent too much time together," said a friend.

As the investigation continued, the people of Huyton remained palpably stunned. Ann Fall, 43, a neighbour, was close to tears as her daughter described how Anthony had taught her how to play basketball.

"He rigged up that net and anyone was welcome from around the estate. He had more white friends than black."

- INDEPENDENT