As his killer is sentenced to more than 27 years in prison, the shock of the death and years of hardship have left the family of a Camden grandad struggling to get him a headstone
The daughters of murdered Mark Carroll, 55, have now started a fundraiser for his headstone, less than a week after his killer was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison.
Ayisha Carroll, 25, and Danielle Morley, 31, Mark’s two daughters, set up the fundraiser at the start of this week after the sentencing of Rasheed Rahman, of Dunmow Close, Chadwell Heath, who murdered their father two years ago after being released on bail by the Met Police days before.
Mark died after an unprovoked attack by Rahman, 21, then 19, in St Martin’s Gardens, Camden, on April 10 2024. Rahman had previously denied murder but was found guilty following a trial at Wood Green Crown Court and sentenced to at least 27 years in prison on Thursday, September 10. He was also convicted of carrying a knife, threatening with an offensive weapon and robbery.
In the two months leading up to Mark’s death, Rahman had stabbed Iulian Cavaliuc in a separate East London attack, but was not tracked down due to delays in police gathering CCTV. There were numerous other incidents of violence, yet this ended in Rahman being released on police bail.
Since the sentencing, Ayisha and Danielle have decided that it is time to fund a headstone for their father’s grave after years of financial hiccups hindered their plans for financing one. The fundraiser currently has a goal of £2000, and the pair said that any additional funds raised would be donated to the charity Hundred Families, which supported them throughout the trial process after their father’s death.
Speaking about the fundraiser, Ayisha said, “We were both trying to save up repeatedly, but about four or five months after my dad passed away, my landlord asked me to move out as the tenancy was coming to an end, and then he said that he wasn’t sure that I would be able to continue paying because of what had happened.
“He was aware of what had happened. I ended up spending quite a lot of my money, and I had been saving up to get a new rental place.
“My sister is a full-time renter and has three children, and I live in private accommodation as well, so that’s quite expensive. When it got to this point, we can actually communicate about what has happened, not just about the headstone, but what actually happened as well. We would like an external review of what happened and how someone can be released on bail after being quite violent in public.”
Ayisha explained that since her father’s tragic death, she has struggled with her mental health and that as she was self-employed, saving for the headstone was incredibly hard, meaning that both she and her sister struggled to raise the funds due to life circumstances. Yet since the trial, the pair have decided that now is the time to reach out for help.
“We both tried to save. We both tried to cope. We both tried to manage the trauma. But the truth is: we can’t do this alone”, said the sisters in a heartfelt message attached to their GoFundMe.
Tributing her dad to MyLondon, Ayisha said: “He was an immensely unique character. My sister is the one with children; he is one of those grandfathers who is just unintentionally and intentionally a very, very charming and funny person.
“He was always getting his two granddaughters to laugh, he was such a kind man, and he would give the last £10 out of his pocket even if he was at a deficit. I would message him at like 3 or 4 in the morning, and we would have these conversations, and we would talk for hours and not really know what we were talking about, but it was amazing.
“He used to keep these diaries for us, like songs and everything he was going through, he did them up to a few days before he died, those have actually made it seem like a part of him is still here. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
In addition to the heartfelt tribute, the daughters urged a review into the circumstances behind their father’s death, as well as an urgent call for an inquest to be held. They are currently working to establish what information they are entitled to, with the help of Hundred Families, as Rahman had been arrested by the Met Police numerous times in the days leading up to the incident.
Ayisha also explained some of the anxiety that developed during the wait for her father’s killer’s trial. She said, “You are aware of a date coming up, and you are really apprehensive that it won’t be moved again. You don’t really realise how much they are going to go over the same information. It was very difficult for my sister and me.
“The judicial system at the moment, from what I know, families are constantly having so many delays in waiting for justice, and that is before the potential of an inquest or anything like that happening.”
A link to Ayisha and Danielle’s fundraiser is available here.
