Tai O'Donnell of Croydon, London was stabbed to death by his girlfriend, Kamila Ahmad, 22, who had an extensive criminal record including 11 convictions for assault, battery, and robbery. She was also charged for stabbing an ex-boyfriend in 2015, according to Sunday Times.
Stacey O'Donnell, Tai's mother, testified in court earlier this month detailing the mental and physical abuse her son suffered while dating Ahmad, which she had previously chalked up as an average "toxic relationship."
"He was a young, popular boy, he didn't want to be seen as someone who was being terrorized by a girl. He was embarrassed," O'Donnell said of her 6 ft 2 in son who towered over his 5 ft girlfriend.
"I'd seen his stress. But I made the wrong assumption that it was just an average toxic relationship. There was nothing average about it," O'Donnell explained to the jury. "It was serious abuse. My son did not want to die."
"Tai wasn't a timid boy," she said, according to Sunday Times. "He had a strong spirit. Never in a million years would I have thought that he would end up in a situation like this."
Tai O'Donnell was pursuing his dreams of becoming a music producer at Croydon College when he met Ahmad, who had a "bad girl" reputation, Daily Mail reports.
It only took two months for O'Donnell to confide in his mother that something was "off" about Ahmad. She would not let Tai see his friends without her permission and would become enraged over "minor issues." However, his mother said that he spoke about it in a joking manner, which led to her belief that it was just the typical toxic relationship.
As time progressed, so did the intensity of the relationship.
Tai had called his mother in the middle of the night fearful of Ahmad, who was banging on his door. She then used a brick to make her way into the home. When family arrived, Tai said that everything was "okay" and they proceeded to leave, according to Sunday Times.
Stacey also testified that she witnessed "bite marks" on her son's neck on a separate occasion, which led to her having a stern discussion with Tai insisting that it was time for him to end their relationship. Tai confided in her that everytime he brought up leaving Ahmad, she would "threaten to commit suicide" and "shank stab" him, court documents show.
The night of the tragic killing, Stacey went to their home on March 2 and said that it was time for them to end their "toxic" relationship "for good." Surveillance footage then caught the couple arguing in the street around 12:25 am. Ahmad was caught hitting Tai in the face with a bag. That was the last time Tai was seen alive.
According to court documents, Ahmad had texted a family member at 3:27 am that she "stabbed someone" and "no one is helping me clear him up." Law enforcement discovered Tai's body around noon the next day after a neighbor called the police. DNA taken of a bloodstained jacket and rucksack linked Ahmad to the scene.
Judge Peter Gower sentenced Ahmad to life in prison following an extensive trial at Croydon Crown Court earlier this month.
During the trial, Judge Gower slammed Ahmad, who tried to paint herself as a victim for enduring domestic abuse as a child, as "controlling" and "coercive" after failing to show remorse for her actions.
"It demonstrates with chilling clarity how highly dangerous a young woman you are. You were indifferent that he died and have shown not the smallest bit of remorse," Judge Grower said to Ahmad. "He posed no physical threat to you. What you did was not in self-defence, it was done in anger."
As for Stacey O'Donnell, she is now dedicating her life to combatting knife violence on behalf of her late-son Tai, Daily Mail reports.
