The grieving mother of an innocent man gunned down in Harlesden in 2016 feels like she is in “prison” after being forced to live in a cramped, squalid hostel room for two years.
Oliver Tetlow was “executed” in a drive-by shooting in Church Road on March 9, 2016, in a case of mistaken identity.
Four gang members charged with his murder were acquitted in January 2017 due to “insufficient evidence”.
Oliver’s mother Pamela Humphrey said she wishes the case could be reopened. “There’s no justice,” she told the Times. “Most people know those involved. There were hundreds of witnesses – a lot of people came forward but still nothing was done. It makes no sense to us. It’s shocking.
“I want the case reopened – people have to start speaking. They would talk if it happened to them.”
In December 2016, Pamela was moved to a homeless hostel, the Euro Wembley Hotel in Ealing Road, Wembley, where she shares a small studio with her 13-year-old daughter.
“Oliver was a good young man,” she said. “He liked drinking and smoking but he was very spiritual, very loving and very caring.
“There is no way he was involved in any criminal activities, nor a gang member.
“But my youngest child and I are being punished for a crime we did not commit by being locked up here. I’ve never lived in such a small space in my life. Is it because of Oliver’s murder we are still here? We’ve done nothing wrong.”
The 49-year-old mother-of-three suffers from lupus, arthritis and sciatica, and tells us she has regular nosebleeds because of the room’s heating system that doesn’t work properly.
She added: “Since I’ve been living here there’s been a double stabbing and a rape. I’m trying to stay strong and focused so I can bring up and look after my two other children.
“We have no life, we just want to live a normal life, whatever that is.”
Barry Gardiner, MP for Brent North, wrote to the council on her behalf in March.
Pamela also wrote to Brent’s chief exec Carolyn Downs and council leader Cllr Muhammed Butt on September 24 but has received no response.
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Cllr Eleanor Southwood. lead member for housing, said: “This is a very sad situation,
“Ms Humphry has our deepest sympathies, and we are working with her to find a suitable home.
“Some of the circumstances here are out of our control, not least the Government’s benefit cap, and the desperate shortage of affordable homes in Brent. We’re taking action to improve this, including by building our own homes, but the situation for many residents is incredibly difficult.
“We will do all we can to help Ms Humphry find a suitable home and an investigation into the concerns she has raised about her current accommodation is ongoing.”
Asked about conditions at the Euro Wembley hostel, and the attacks Pamela described, general manager William Micheli said one of the stabbings was a “one-off” and didn’t know of any others.
He added he had no knowledge of a rape, saying: “We have security 24/7. It is not a dangerous area.”
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