Grieving mother's appeal

The grieving mother of seven-year-old Toni-Ann Byfield today appealed for someone to turn in the "cruel killer who took my beautiful daughter from this world".

At a press conference in Kingston, Jamaica, Christine "Rossalyn" Richards said the public had to aid the hunt for the killers of Toni-Ann and her father Bertram Byfield. And she called for an end to the gun crime epidemic that took their lives.

She said: "Whoever did this has left my sons without a sister and without a father. We are deeply saddened and shocked. My daughter went to England for a better life. Now she has been taken from this world."

Hundreds gathered at a candelit vigil last night outsidethe Kensal Green bedsit-where Toni-Ann was shot in the back while fleeing the man who had just killed her father.

At the Police Commissioner's Office in Kingston, Ms Richards said: "I want to say to the person who killed my daughter: what could a seven-year-old girl have done to someone who killed another person? Please, please, please help the police stop the shooting. Whoever knows who has done this, please come forward. If Toni-Ann was with me she would still be alive."

The 32-year-old, who has two sons, Jermaine, 13, and Keron, 10, said Toni-Ann was supposed to return to Jamaica but ended up living with Byfield, 41, a convicted drug dealer. "I sent Toni-Ann to England on a church trip with a girlfriend. My intention was for her to come back. Her father was in England and he took her.

"Her last words were, 'Mummy, I'm coming to Jamaica in December.' She was looking forward to a holiday. I want to bring her back to Jamaica for the funeral. "

The press conference was halted when local reporters began to bombard Ms Richards with questions about the murder. She wiped her face on her T-shirt and slumped into her chair. Detective Chief Superintendent John Coles of the Met said Sunday's shooting may be linked to a Jamaica drug feud, or to issues over one of Byfield's ex-girlfriends.

Among the bouquets and cards outside the bedsit last night was a message: "Why must there be so much violence? Such a beautiful girl could be the first black prime minister, a teacher, a doctor, a nurse, our future."