Jodie Chesney's father: 'She wouldn't have done anything to deserve this'
The teenager's dad says the last time he saw her was on the day she died - when she got up early to wish him happy birthday.
Thursday 7 March 2019 19:04, UK
The father of murdered teenager Jodie Chesney has said his daughter was the "nicest person ever" and "wouldn't have done anything to deserve this".
The 17-year-old died after being stabbed in the back in an east London park on Friday evening.
Speaking to Sky News, her father Peter said: "Someone knows who did this. Just do the right thing.
"You'll never know the pain you've caused and the beauty you've taken away.
"They've destroyed something beautiful here. It's a disgrace."
Jodie was playing music with five of her friends in Harold Hill when they were approached by two males.
One of them stabbed Jodie in the back before the pair fled the scene without saying anything.
A man was arrested in Leicester on Wednesday night over the killing but his name and age have so far not been released.
"She was the nicest person any of us know," said Mr Chesney.
"Everything about her was about being kind and good and thoughtful."
Mr Chesney said the teenager "wouldn't have done anything to deserve this - no way", and told the killer: "You'll never know the pain you've caused and the beauty you've taken away."
He said his daughter was murdered on his birthday.
"The last time I spoke to her was Friday morning. She got up to wish me happy birthday before I went to work," said Mr Chesney.
Describing the aftermath of the attack, he told Sky News: "Her friend told me she screamed for about a minute and then fell down.
"But then the shock kicked in and she was moaning and groaning for the next half an hour or so and died in the ambulance."
He said the family was finding it especially difficult to understand why someone would target Jodie.
"The problem with this - what makes it so hard - is that there's no reason, we don't know why - no motive," said Mr Chesney.
Jodie's father was speaking alongside his partner Joanne and daughter Lucy.
The interview comes less than a day after another knife death - in Leyton, east London - meaning four people have been stabbed to death in the last six days.
The home secretary has vowed to treat knife crime "like a disease" following an outcry over the number of young knife victims.
In total, at least 36 people have been stabbed to death in the UK this year.
Police numbers have fallen by 20,000 in the past decade in England and Wales but the prime minister has denied there is a link to knife crime.
Jodie's father said it seemed like it was no longer taboo for teenagers to settle a score with knives.
"It's definitely getting worse... I was the last generation where knives weren't acceptable," said Mr Chesney
"No one had a knife, if you stabbed someone you were bang out of order. No one did that. Now it seems to be not a problem anymore."