Detectives investigating the murder of Armley teenager Jamie Meah have renewed their appeal for information on the day his family mark the first birthday of the baby son he will never know.
Jamie Meah had only just turned 18 years old when he was stabbed and fatally wounded in an incident in Hall Lane, Armley, on March 31 last year. A 16-year-old boy was also stabbed and seriously injured in the attack.
At the time of his death, Jamie was an expectant father and his son was born on November 11, 2023.
His family have released a statement to highlight the significance of today’s date and to urge anyone to come forward with information that could assist the police in tracing three suspects who are still wanted over his murder.
They said: “The heartache of losing Jamie is something that continues to stay with us every day since his murder.
“Today is the first birthday of his son and while this is a cause for celebration it is also, for us, a painful reminder that Jamie is not here to be a part of his son’s life, and never will be”.
“Although he is just still a baby, at some point in his life he will want to know where his dad is and what happened to him, and it breaks our hearts to think about that.
“We desperately want to see justice for Jamie, and we hope that anyone who has information that could help the police investigation will think about what we are still going through as a family and do the right thing.”
Detectives from West Yorkshire Police Homicide and Major Enquiry Team are still seeking Aquade Jeffers, Caleb Awe, and Enham Nishat, who they have previously named as suspects for Jamie’s murder and the attempted murder of the 16-year-old victim
They are believed to have fled abroad shortly after the incident, before they were identified as suspects.
Detectives are continuing to carry out extensive enquiries to locate them and are liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service.
In April, Ranei Wilks, now aged 23, from Leeds, appeared in court charged with Jamie’s murder and the attempted murder of the 16-year-old victim and those proceedings are ongoing.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Damian Roebuck said: “We are continuing to carry out extensive enquiries to trace Jeffers, Awe and Nishat and remain determined to keep doing everything we can to get justice for Jamie and his family.
“Today, is clearly a particularly painful day for them as they mark the first birthday of Jamie’s son in what are really difficult circumstances. We would urge anyone who has information that could assist the investigation to consider what the family are going through and pass that on to us.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact HMET via 101 quoting Operation Plunket, reference 13230180255, or online here. Information can be given anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.