Shaun Akanbi

Photo credit: Urban Shotz Photography.

THE DAY AFTER Christmas. "Kilburn murder victim identified as Shaun Akanbi," the Boxing Day headline read.

Below the headline, a picture of a boy I briefly dated, several years ago. "A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as multiple stab wounds to the torso."

I hadn't seen Shaun in years, but we were once close. We were never the love of each other's lives, but for a brief moment in time, we belonged to each other.

Even after we went our separate ways (amicably. No drama. It just fizzled out), I was aware of him, peripherally, out there in the world. He was studying law when I knew him, but he went on to found Billy Boyce fashion, whose clothes media outlets have been at pains to point out have been worn by various celebrities (hijacking a story about a boy who's been killed. Their names overshadowing his). But Shaun was a success, doing what he loved.

Shaun back in the day.

No one seems to know yet what happened to him this Christmas. Will knowing the how, the why, make it any easier? No. But it's hell not knowing.

I remember the last night I spent with Shaun, all those years ago. We walked around Shepherd's Bush market looking for a tracksuit for him. Shaun was a tiny little guy, and couldn't find anything to fit. We went into a shop selling kid's clothes, underneath the railway arches, where he found something that fitted him. A tracksuit for a child. It seemed so funny at the time.

I'll always remember that day.