Pic:Alex Malcolm, who died in hospital
Crime reporter(wp/es):
The mother of a five-year-old boy who died after allegedly being beaten in a park paid tribute today to her “little angel”.
Alex Malcolm was described as “beautiful, kind and gentle” by his mother Liliya Breha, 29, who wept as she said: “He shouldn’t have been taken away from me”.
Alex, a Year 1 pupil at Archbishop Sumner CofE primary school in Kennington, suffered head injuries while playing in Mountsfield Park, Catford, at about 6pm on November 20.
Police were called at 1.45am the following day when he was admitted to King’s College Hospital. He died the next day in intensive care.
A 38-year-old man has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Ms Breha, who lives in Bromley, said: “I’m heartbroken, I miss him. I really struggle because he shouldn’t have been taken away from me. He was my best friend.” She said that Alex, her only child, was popular among classmates and enjoyed going to parks and on trips around London. He appeared as an angel in a nativity play last year and had recently completed a portfolio to begin child modelling.
Ms Breha said: “He had so many friends — everybody knew Alex. He would always share all his toys and sweets.
“Lots of my friends have newborns and he would feed them with their bottles — he was really soft and gentle. He would always care for me and compliment me and always say thank you.
“He was too beautiful, people often thought he was a girl. He was doing a little modelling. We’d just done a portfolio, he’d had lots of offers but we never had a chance to do proper modelling.”
She said he loved school, where he was always among the first at the gates, and enjoyed music and singing.
“If I was too tired he’d say ‘Miss told me you have to read me the book’ so I knew he was listening to his teachers,” she said. “He’d help me with the shopping and was very tidy. He was perfect. He would see what I was doing and copy me.
“I could see he was growing in confidence. He was beautiful. He was an angel in the nativity last year and we all called him little angel.”
Family friend Sarosé Burnley described Alex as a “stunning” little boy who was devoted to his mother.
She added: “Her bond with Alex was super strong. She doted on him.
“Despite everything she’s going through she’s been extremely strong but I know speaking to her on a day-to-day basis that she’s broken.”
Ms Breha hopes to set up a charity in memory of Alex and has agreed with his school to plant a tree in his memory. His family have not been able arrange his funeral as police have not yet released his body.
Marvyn Iheanacho, 38, of Hounslow, appeared in custody at Woolwich crown court yesterday charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He was remanded in custody until March 10.
