EXCLUSIVE The VERY different childhoods of two boys raised just four miles apart - and how a single punch after a chance encounter on a Tube escalator ended in tragedy

Daily Mail​

a day ago

Just four miles separated the childhood homes of Sam Winter and Rakeem Miles - yet their upbringings in south east London could not have been more different.
Childhood photos show Sam spending his formative years in a stable, nurturing home, while images of Rakeem at the same age hint at a life already veering off course.
The two had never crossed paths until they stepped off the same Jubilee Line train at Southwark station shortly before 9.30pm on August 22 last year.
As Sam, 28, exited the station and made his way up the escalator, he brushed past Rakeem - sparking a chain of events whose consequences could not have been more tragic. Enraged, Rakeem, 24, set off to seek 'revenge'.
He pursued his prey for more than two minutes through the station, following him out through the ticket barriers, and began screaming abuse at Sam as he headed out of the exit stairs.
When Rakeem caught up with the 'kind and gentle' charity volunteer, he grabbed him from behind, ripping his top as he pulled him towards him, before issuing a single devastating blow to the head.
Sam - who worked as a data scientist and was also a qualified physiotherapist - suffered a catastrophic brain injury and died two days later at the Royal London Hospital with his grief-stricken family at his bedside.
This week Rakeem escaped a murder rap and was jailed for eight years at Inner London Crown Court after admitting Sam's manslaughter.
He could be out on the streets in little more than five years and campaigners have blasted the sentence as 'simply inadequate'.
The Attorney General's Office has received a request to review the sentence many deem to be unduly lenient.
Despite their 'unbearable loss', Sam's church-going family spoke of their 'deep faith' and said they had 'unconditionally forgiven' Rakeem for killing their son.
His loved ones said: 'We have lost our gentle, hugely compassionate, funny, intelligent and hard-working son Sam because of this entirely unprovoked and horrific assault.
'We would do anything and give everything to have Sam back with us. But he's gone for the rest of our lives.
'The pain of his loss is almost unbearable for us, his wider family, many friends and all the people in his community, whom he loved to help through his physiotherapy, service and personal generosity.
'We thank God, however, that his death isn't the end for us. We'll be reunited with Sam in heaven.'
Even beyond his death, others continued to benefit from Sam's 'unendingly giving spirit'.
In a message to well-wishers and friends at the time of the tragedy, his IT programme manager father David, 58, said: 'We've just said our final goodbyes to our precious Sam and dropped him into the transplant surgery operating theatre.
'He wanted to give as many of his organs as possible to others. His heart, liver, pancreas and kidneys are being given to four people to save their lives.'
The generosity of spirit of Sam and his family stand in stark contrast to his killer and those around him.
After the attack Rakeem simply walked away and 'continued on with his evening' - without a thought for his victim, or any sense of remorse.
Now MailOnline can give an insight into his background growing up in a council flat in one of the capital's most notorious crime-ridden inner city areas.
Rakeem, who is thought to have two older brothers, was brought up by single mother Juliet Sealy, 58, in a third floor flat in a six-storey block just off East Street in Walworth.
A heartwarming photo from his eighth birthday shows him beaming over his chocolate cake with friends, but another from the same day shows him flashing a gang sign alongside his father and brother - a glimpse into the unstable environment that would shape his early years.
Yet among nearly 300 other photographs on Juliet's Facebook page there are just a handful of Rakeem - and no others that capture important milestones in his young life.
Instead the page - in which Rakeem's mother refers to herself as Julie Sweetboots and Julie Sweetlove - features numerous photos of Juliet and her friends posing in provocative outfits.
One series of images sees her in shiny black thigh high boots and armed with a leather whip.
One shocked friend commented: 'Julie, WAT R U DOING? I think these pics are meant to be private!'
She went on to beg her to remove the images but to little effect.
Others show her dressed in black basques and skimpy dresses while in one picture she is seen sitting astride a powerful motorbike with the caption: 'This is the only decent thing I've had between my leg in a bit.'
Rakeem himself had little time for social media but it appeared at one point that he held out hopes of becoming a BMX racer.
Aged around 12, the youngster took part in races at a nearby track in Burgess Park which was opened as part of the Olympic legacy following London 2012.
Peckham BMX Club, which is based there, went on to become one of the country's top teams with local boy Kye Whyte winning a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics.
Whyte and the club's founder Michael Pusey - who was awarded an MBE in 2018 - are among Rakeem's Facebook friends.
He went on to post images on Instagram of injuries he had suffered including having stitches in his leg and showed off his 'first break'.
According to his Facebook account, Rakeem attended The Academy in Peckham before doing YMCA training and working at Ralph Lauren and JD Sports.
There's no mention of the drug charges he faced after he was accused of supplying cannabis in July 2022 when he had moved to a swish apartment block near Southwark station.
Juliet was reluctant to talk about the case when approached by MailOnline this week.
But neighbours told how Rakeem spent much of his time drifting through the area.
One said: 'He spends a lot of time down at Burgess Park. He goes there but also you see him outside with his friends.
'They hang out near the playground in the early evening and chill. I don't know if he's ever been in trouble. I was shocked when I heard what happened.'
The block where the family live - where the smell of powerful skunk hangs heavy in the air of it's stairwells - is just yards from the scene where a rampaging knifeman stabbed to death local man Hilkiah McLeggan, 77, last November.
Two others were injured during the frenzied Sunday morning attack in East Street market.
Last December, Southwark Council pledged a 'comprehensive review' over the alarming rates of crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.
It was deemed the worst in the borough, particularly for safety after dark, with record levels of muggings, theft, knives, property damage, and abuse in parks and around schools.
One elderly resident of the block told MailOnline: 'I've lived here for more than 50 years. A lot has changed in that time - and not for the better.
'There used to be more of a community but now people just shut themselves behind their doors.
'There's one flat where there's just a lot of teenagers hanging out there with their bikes. I don't know who lives there. A lot of different people seem to come and go. How they got the flats I don't know.
'I've never been afraid of anything but I don't feel safe nowadays walking out. I never don't go out after dark - you'd be crazy to.'
Throughout his childhood the youngster sponsored a Ugandan orphan called Sam and at 16 he would go on to travel there for a charity project
While Rakeem's thoughts were on the world of BMX bikes, Grade-A student Sam was settling into life at private Colfe's School three miles from the £1million end of terrace home in Crofton Park where his family have lived since he was born.
He was then eldest of David and schoolteacher wife Michele's three children. The youngest, his sister Jasmin, has recently qualified to become a vet.
Throughout his childhood the youngster sponsored a Ugandan orphan called Sam and at 16 he would go on to travel there for a charity project.
He is said to have dreamed of founding a school in Africa, once telling a friend: 'I'm going to make a million or two then we'll fly across and make it happen.'
He went on to study biological science at Exeter University before obtaining a Masters in AI and data science at Cambridge, according to his on line CV.
The resume showed he had been working in technology for a multinational medical firm - the latest in a series of high flying jobs in IT along with juggling work as a physiotherapist.
In his spare time he volunteered at a range of charities from soup kitchens, to food banks and other work with the homeless.
Michele, 55, has said that at the time of his death the passionate conservationist told her he had been accepted to train as a solar panel engineer.
She proudly revealed Sam taught himself 'to code' and went on to develop an award winning app which provides therapeutic exercises.
As a police investigation was ongoing, the family had to wait until November to say a final farewell to Sam at a funeral they turned into a celebration of his life.
During the one hour and 45 minute service, friends and loved ones lined up to pay a series of emotional tributes to the sports-loving young man who had touched so many lives.
In a voice quaking with emotion Jasmin said: 'Sam was the kindest soul I've ever known and I know I'll never meet anyone like him again.
'He lived life at 200 miles per hour yet always made time to make everyone feel valued.
'Sam had millions of beautiful visions of the future, ways to make it better, and to make people smile at the same time.
'I'm still struggling to process that I've lost you Sam. You were taken away from all of us so abruptly and in such a cruel and undeserving way.
'Most importantly Sam you were so full of love and giving that I want to take this moment to say 'I forgive you Rakeem Miles' because I know Sam would forgive you too.
'Finally, I want to say, 'Sam. You'll always be my best friend - Goodbye.'
Thanking friends for their support during the family's 'darkest hour' David said: 'I was hoping to decorate a beautiful church, invite all my friends and speak to you at Sam's wedding. It's beyond my worst nightmare to be doing these things at his funeral.'
A former girlfriend called Imani - a Cambridge graduate whose family originate from Sierra Leone - told how Sam's 'desire to help and love' others 'was evident in everything he did' whether it was 'volunteering, juggling multiple jobs, or simply being there'.
She added: 'All of us can think of a way in which we have been blessed by knowing him as a person or being on the receiving end of his acts and words of kindness.
'Sam was someone that I, and others, could really rely on and he had a remarkable ability to connect with people, often with surprising little acts of thoughtfulness.
'Sam had a big heart that loved deeply and encouraged relentlessly. He made time for everyone. Sam's legacy of kindness, encouragement and unwavering faith will continue to inspire us all.'
One section of the service, lasting nearly three minutes, featured a lengthy montage of photographs of Sam along with his family and friends enjoying days out, holidays, fancy dress parties and family dinners from the time he was a young boy until he grew up to become a fine young man.