Murder of 16-year-old Sheffield boy unsolved as another anniversary passes

Jonathan Matondo was gunned down in a ‘postcode gang war’ in October 2007.

Thirteen years on from the killing, nobody is behind bars for the shooting.

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One man stood trial twice and was acquitted, with nobody else ever arrested over the death.

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After the initial suspect walked free from court, South Yorkshire Police said they had believed a number of people were involved in the killing and stressed officers would ‘relentlessly pursue’ them but to date nobody else has ever been charged.

Jonathan, from Verdon Street, Burngreave, was killed close to a children's playground at the Nottingham Cliff recreation ground in Burngreave, with detectives believing he was targeted by a rival gang.

His death blew the lid off a feud between the S3 and S4 gangs, which operated in Burngrave and Pitsmoor at that time.

During the trial of the man originally accused of murder, South Yorkshire Police revealed that the force had compiled a dossier of 38 incidents involving the gangs and recovered six guns.

Jonathan, who moved to Sheffield when he was six years old to escape a civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was a member of the S3 gang.

He was known on the streets as ‘Venomous’ and carried a knife and a gun.

The night before he was shot dead, a house belonging to relatives of an S4 member was shot at.

There was a failed attempt on Jonathan's life a few hours before he was killed, when shots were fired at him while he visited a friend's flat on Melrose Road, Pitsmoor.

Investigations revealed that the same gun used to kill Jonathan had been used to fire at another S3 member’s home two months earlier.

South Yorkshire Police said: “The death of Jonathan Matondo remains under continual review by our Major Incident Review Team, as do all other undetected homicide investigations.

“We take any new information, intelligence or lines of enquiry seriously and allocate resources to look into them accordingly.”

Anyone with information should call 101.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.