Victim: Rio McFarlane

 

The Metropolitan Police in conjunction with The Sun Newspaper have released a murder appeal video featuring footballer Rio Ferdinand.

The Sun newspaper are also offering a £10,000 reward in addition to the reward of up to £20,000 being offered by the Met police for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the murder of Rio McFarlane.

Rio McFarlane, 18, was murdered on Monday 6 September 2010 in Dragon Road, SE15. At approx 21.30hrs nearby police officers heard a gunshot fired and diverted to investigate. On arrival they found Rio McFarlane, aged 18, suffering a gunshot wound. The ambulance service attended but Rio died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Like his namesake, Rio McFarlane was a promising young footballer from Peckham. He had no involvement in crime and police believe his murder may have been a case of mistaken identity.

Rio Ferdinand said: “I grew up in Peckham with Rio’s brother Anthony and have known the McFarlane family for many years, so I wanted to do something to help them get justice for Rio’s murder.

“I believe that the community can make a difference but it’s important for people to come forward and talk to police.”

“An innocent young mans life has been taken and the community can not allow this to happen again. My family and I ask you to please speak out and do what’s right.”

Detective Superintendent Gary Richardson from Trident said: “There are people out there who clearly know who committed this murder. Rio McFarlane was a decent young man and his life was cruelly taken away from him. Trident want people to come forward and talk. Share this YouTube clip with your friends and put it on your face book pages.

“We also want to make it clear there are special measures that we can take to protect your identity and have used these measures in many successful cases.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the incident room on 020 8247 4553; if you wish to remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

I hope this helps to find the murderous scum bags.

Rest In Peace Rio McFarlane.