This is the story of the senseless murder of Darren Kelly, a 42-year-old father from South Essex, England. He would be accosted by a group of vigilante teenagers who believed he was there to meet up with an underaged girl.

In fact, Darren had been chatting online with a 15-year-girl, who set up this sting operation after becoming obsessed with the idea of catching a predator. She recruited a group of boys to hide in the bushes before the meeting, waiting to attack Darren when he showed up. The situation went from 0 to 10 very quickly, with one of the young men chasing Darren down with a hunting knife, before murdering him. In the end, a man’s life was taken from him - with no evidence to suggest he was even attempting to meet up with a teenager and very little recourse for those involved. The senseless murder of Darren Kelly is a perfect example of vigilante justice gone wrong and why it’s hardly ever a good idea to take the law into your own hands.

Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-36321082
https://www.halsteadgazette.co.uk/news/south_essex_news/14500196.murderer-chris-carroll-20-is-handed-life-prison-sentence-and-will-serve-a-minimum-of-21-years-for-killing-darren-kelly-in-pitsea/
https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/14435379.eye-witness-describes-moment-darren-kelly-was-chased-down-and-stabbed-to-death-in-pitsea-street/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/daughter-innocent-dad-killed-paedophile-8281536


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