Two teenage girls, Charlene Ellis, 18, and Letisha Shakespeare, 17, were shot with a

MAC-10 The Military Armament Corporation Model 10, officially abbreviated as "M10" or "M-10", and more commonly known as the MAC-10, is a compact, blowback operated machine pistol/submachine gun that was developed by Gordon B. Ingram in 1964. It is ...

machine pistol, outside a hair salon in Birchfield Road,

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England, as they were leaving a party in the early hours of 2 January 2003, in a gang-related

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

. Shakespeare and Ellis were described as "best friends" and "innocent victims". Charlene's twin sister Sophie, cousin Cheryl Shaw and a friend, Leon Harris, were also injured. Shaw was shot in the hand. The shooting, investigated by the

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, W ...

under its new Chief Constable,

Paul Scott-Lee Sir Paul Joseph Scott-Lee QPM DL is a retired British police officer who served as Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary and West Midlands Police. Early life and career Scott-Lee was born in Coventry, and educated at Whitley Abbey Comprehen ...

, was part of a feud between two Birmingham gangs, the "Johnson Crew" and the "Burger Bar Boys", and was in response to the murder of Yohanne Martin, a Burger Bar Boys associate. Four men were each convicted of murder and attempted murder at

Leicester Crown Court The Leicestershire Law Courts is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court venue, which deals with civil cases, in Wellington Street, Leicester, England. History Until the early 1980s, criminal court hea ...

in March 2005. Marcus Ellis, 24 (Charlene's half-brother), Michael Gregory, 22, and Nathan Martin, 26 (brother of Yohanne), were jailed for a minimum of 35 years. Rodrigo Simms, 20, was sentenced to 27 years – the lesser figure being due to his age at the time of the shooting. The trial was the first in England at which

secret witness A secret witness (or anonymous witness) is a witness which is granted anonymity in a trial by the juridical authority. The identity of the witness is not disclosed to the defendant and the general public except the secret witness agrees to it. It i ...

es were allowed to be used. In 2005, the convicted men appealed at

Woolwich Crown Court Woolwich Crown Court, or more accurately the Crown Court at Woolwich, is located at 2 Belmarsh Road, Thamesmead is one of twelve Crown Court centres serving Greater London. It is adjacent to both HM Prison Belmarsh and Belmarsh Magistrates' Court ...

but the appeal was turned down. They were also refused leave to appeal to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. In 2012, Ellis, Martin and Simms appealed to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

that they had not received a fair trial. This appeal was also dismissed. The mothers of the two dead women, Marcia Shakespeare and Beverley Thomas, have since actively campaigned against gun crime and gangs. They set up the '

Letisha and Charlene Education Awards Leticia Ann Bjork Passmore, Leticia Cline (born October 1, 1978) is an American journalist and model. She is best known as a former interviewer for TNA Wrestling, '' Maxim Magazine'', the reality show ''Beauty and the Geek'' and her ''Playboy' ...

', administered by the Birmingham & Black Country Community Foundation, a registered charity, in 2006. In December 2016 it was announced that Marcia Shakespeare had been appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

. In 2018,

Libera Libera may refer to: * Libera (mythology), a Roman goddess of fertility * Libera (choir), a boy vocal group from London * ''Libera'' (film), a 1993 comedy film * "Libera" (song), a song by Italian artist Mia Martini * ''Libera'' (gastropod), a ...

, an Italian association that promotes outreach activities and various types of protest action against organised crime, remembered Letisha and Charlene among other nearly 900 names of innocent victims of organised crime during the 23rd Day of Remembrance and Commitment.

References

External links

Letisha and Charlene Education Awards
*
Thrown in at the deep end
'' – post about the role of a Family Liaison Officer in the case, by the

2003 in England 2003 murders in the United Kingdom 2000s in Birmingham, West Midlands January 2003 events in the United Kingdom January 2003 crimes Crime in Birmingham, West Midlands Deaths by firearm in England Drive-by shootings Female murder victims History of Birmingham, West Midlands Murder in the West Midlands (county) {{UK-hist-stub