'Terrified' vulnerable pensioner, 76, was taunted by teenagers who branded him a 'paedo' before shooting fireworks into his house and killing him, court told

Daily Mail​

13-05-2025

A terrified pensioner tormented for five years by youths was killed by two teenagers who threw a firework through his broken window, a court has heard.
Robert Price, 76, died from burns and smoke inhalation at the blaze at his home in Oval Road North, Dagenham, on July 27, 2024.
Nathan Otitodilchukwu, 18, and a 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted manslaughter.
Mr Price had the early signs of dementia and had been targeted so much by local youths that all his ground floor windows had been boarded up, the Old Bailey heard.
The court heard paramedics and firefighters attended shortly after 5.40pm and forced entry to the home to find Mr Price's body.
The teenage killers were involved in trying to hurl a firework into Mr Price's home earlier that day but they fled when the pensioner opened his front door.
Doorbell footage showed Mr Price open the door slightly and say something, before the 16-year-old ran away shouting 'he saw me fam' as the youths aborted their attack.
A short time later, they walked back towards the house, with doorbell footage capturing him saying, 'come with me, come with me' and then 'gonna f****** torch this n****', the court heard.
The duo ran into the front garden of the house before the 16-year-old stepped on the gas meter box, reached above the boarded-up section of the window and punched a hole, the court was told.
Otitodilchukwu is heard on Ring doorbell footage saying: 'Gonna f***ing torch this n*****', 'Yo, you f***ing paedo', 'yo you f***ing d***head' ' 'We are gonna f**k you up,' before running away.
'He appears to light something and then put something through the hole in the window, before jumping off the gas box, and running way with the others,' Ms Farrelly said.
CCTV captures smoke coming from the broken window after the 16-year-old punched a hole through the glass before flames become visible amid the billowing smoke.
A neighbour who had seen the flames knocked on the door and briefly spoke to Mr Price, but his 'responses became less clear', the court was told.
The neighbour tried to get into the house to rescue Mr Price, but the door was locked, Ms Farrelly said.
Firefighters were later able to get inside and put out the fire, but Mr Price could not be saved.
'Mr Price was obviously deceased and had widespread burns to his body, and Mr Price's life was formally pronounced extinct at 18:36 hours,' Ms Farrelly added.
There were five areas of fire damage in the living room - the first being by the window, where there had been curtains and a net.
Hours before the attack, footage shows Otitodilchukwu, who was living in care, meeting up with the 16-year-old boy.
They filmed themselves launching a firework into a lake, the court was told.
When Otitodilchukwu found out that Mr Price had died, messages were found on his phone saying: 'He was a paedo anyway' and 'I am getting 20 years for this anyway'.
A little later he also told his support worker: 'I was drinking with my friends on Saturday and we were shooting fireworks.'
A few days later, he asked a woman if she had heard about the fire, before telling her, 'If anyone asks, don't say I was in Dagenham,' the court was told.
When asked why, he said: 'Maybe I started the fire with a firework.'
He went on to say that he was drunk with two of his friends, that he had put a firework through a letter box and that it was funny.
Otitodilchukwu was arrested the same day and the 16-year-old was arrested the following month.
Catherine Farrelly, KC, prosecuting said: 'The deceased Mr Price was killed in a fire which was started at his home address by these two defendants who smashed a window at the property.
'Then, through the broken window, they threw a firework.
'The involvement of both was captured on CCTV footage and also on Ring doorbell footage.
'The deceased was Mr Robert Price, he was born on 8 May 1948, so he was 76-years-old on the date of his death.
'He lived alone at his home address at 146 Oval Road in Dagenham, he was a vulnerable adult who had carers who would regularly attend on a daily basis.
'He had been a target of a long campaign of criminal damage and harassment.'
Mr Price, who was described as 'socially awkward' and 'slightly deaf' may have begun to develop dementia.
He had reduced mobility which saw him using a walking frame. He was said to be a 'lonely person' who was 'somewhat distant' from his family.
'Mr Price would never leave his home address and the reason for that is that the local kids would disturb him,' Ms Farrelly said.
'This harassment of Mr Price by local children had also extended to acts of criminal damage to his property.
'Mr Price's windows were regularly smashed by a number of local children, to the extent where Mr Price had had all of his ground floor windows boarded up.'
A friend of Mr Price, John Shoesmith said the attacks 'made his life hell' and that he would never leave his house because 'kids would disturb him'.
Mr Shoesmith described him as socially awkward, and said his lack of social skills and poor hearing meant some people found him 'hard to get along with'.
According to Mr Shoesmith, Mr Price's windows were regularly smashed by a number of the local children, to the point that he had his downstairs windows boarded up.
'In Mr Shoesmith's words, this would happen all the time and they would make his life hell,' Ms Farrelly said.
Ms Farrelly added: 'Mr Price would also regularly talk to one of his neighbours.
'She spoke of how Mr Price was targeted for three to five years by local youths who would smash his windows, her view was that it occurred whenever youths were passing and whenever they wanted.'
A brick was thrown through Mr Price's window two days before he died.
Otitodilchukwu has a conviction for admitting possession of a bladed article in September 2023.
He was convicted in June 2024 of possessing an offensive weapon in March 2024 and was therefore subject to a youth rehabilitation order at the time of the killing of Mr Price.
The sentencing hearing continues.