The heartbroken mother of a teenager stabbed to death says she will not rest until she gets justice for her son.<\/p>\n
Camille Harrington says she and her family are still in a \u201cstate of shock\u201d after 19-year-old Ashton was killed in the early hours of Good Friday.<\/p>\n
Camille Harrington with her son, Ashton, who was stabbed to death in the early hours of Good Friday<\/p>\n
Police have launched a murder investigation<\/a> but have yet to arrest any suspects in connection with the death of the young dad.<\/p>\n Speaking to KentOnline from her home on the London Road Estate in Canterbury, mum-of-three Camille says she is determined to see justice served.<\/p>\n \u201cI just don\u2019t know how someone could be so cruel to end his life like that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t really know how they can sleep at night. Anger has taken over my emotions now.<\/p>\n \u201cI won\u2019t rest until I look in their eyes when I see them facing justice in court.\u201d<\/p>\n The 37-year-old recalled the moment she was woken at 4.30am on Friday by a police officer at her door.<\/p>\n \u201cI could just see the sadness in her eyes before she even told me,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cI was hoping that they were going to say he\u2019d had a bit of an accident, that he was in hospital and had hurt himself.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, Camille was told Ashton had died from fatal stab wounds in Belmont Road, Whitstable, just hours earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like a bad dream you think you\u2019re going to wake up from. I was just in shock and needed to see him to believe it was true,\u201d she said,<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like a Netflix documentary. No family should have to feel this pain. No mother or father should have to get that call or the knock at the door to tell them their child isn\u2019t coming home.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had messaged me that night to tell me he loved me, so I\u2019ve got that.\u201d<\/p>\n Ashton\u2019s death has devastated his family, including his mum, his stepdad Conor, his grandmother Lorraine, and his younger brothers Bentley, 12, and Caisley, 11.<\/p>\n It has also left his baby girl without her father – something Camille says is especially difficult to take.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m never going to see him grow up, and his 18-month-old daughter will never see her dad again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe adored her and she would light up when he was around. She\u2019s been asking for her daddy, which is so upsetting.\u201d<\/p>\n Camille says Ashton was hugely popular with his friends and incredibly loyal to those closest to him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had such a bubbly personality and would light up the whole room with his infectious laugh, which made everyone else laugh too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was the life and soul of the party, and was happiest when he was out with his friends, who he grew up with and are a lovely bunch of boys. They\u2019re absolutely heartbroken.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had his whole life ahead of him.\u201d<\/p>\n A former pupil of Canterbury Academy, Ashton later trained in carpentry and enjoyed motorbikes and fishing with friends.<\/p>\n He had become a father at just 17 – a role his family say he embraced.<\/p>\n \u201cHe doted on his little girl and was literally with her on the day he died,\u201c Camille said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s left a piece of himself behind with her, and I have to be grateful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Ashton was found stabbed in Whitstable at just after 2am on Friday, April 3.<\/p>\n Police and paramedics were called and an air ambulance landed at the nearby Westmeads Recreation Ground, but he could not be saved.<\/p>\n Officers taped off the area and a murder inquiry was launched.<\/p>\n In the days since, dozens of floral tributes have been left near the scene, including at the entrance to Whitstable Town Football Club.<\/p>\n A note from staff at the nearby Whitstable Nursing Home read: \u201cKnife crime needs to stop, full stop. It is destroying our communities and families.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry for your loss at this sad time.\u201d<\/p>\n Camille says the support from the community has been overwhelming.<\/p>\n \u201cThe love that people have shown us as a family has been non-stop,\u201c she said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs much as it’s been very overwhelming, I think it’s helping us get through.\u201d<\/p>\n Fundraising appeals have also been launched to help cover funeral costs and support local crime prevention charity Safer Kent.<\/p>\n The funeral appeal<\/a> has already raised more than \u00a37,000, while the second fundraiser<\/a> has collected \u00a31,700.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to give him the best possible send-off because he deserves it,\u201d said Camille.<\/p>\n Family and friends are also gathering on the Victoria Recreation Ground in Canterbury at 6pm tomorrow (Friday) to release balloons in Ashton\u2019s memory.<\/p>\n Three days after his death, police announced they were looking for two men<\/a> – Tobias Agbaje and Kieron Barnes – who they want to speak to as part of their enquiries.<\/p>\n They are believed to have links to Herne Bay, Whitstable, Canterbury, Sittingbourne, Ramsgate and London, but have yet to be traced.<\/p>\nDad-of-one Ashton Harrington doted on his baby daughter. Picture: Harrington family<\/p>\n
Ashton Harrington with his mum Camille and stepdad Conor<\/p>\n
Ashton Harrington\u2019s family say he had an \u2018infectious laugh\u2019\u00a0and was incredibly loyal to those closest to him<\/p>\n
Tributes to Ashton Harrington in Belmont Road, Whitstable, where he died from fatal stab wounds<\/p>\n
Police are trying to trace Kieron Barnes (left) and Tobias Agbaje as part of the investigation. Picture: Kent Police<\/p>\n