A mother and son have been charged with murdering a disabled teenager with a machete in Sydenham. 

Nicola Leighton, 36, allegedly drove her son, Tyreese Ulysses, 19, and three other youths to the scene of the killing, a court heard.

Armed with machetes, the four teenagers allegedly stabbed 17-year-old Levi Ernest-Morrison to death.

The killing, in Hazel Grove, Syndenham, on April 10 is said to have been a “pre-planned” attack.

Leighton, of Sydenham, Ulysses, of nearby Catford, and three youths, aged 14, 15, and 17, have been charged with Levi’s murder.

On Monday, Ulysses appeared at the Old Bailey for his first appearance at a Crown Court, and was also charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay told the court: “The prosecution case is they committed this murder together.

“The prosecution case is that this defendant’s mother drove the defendant and three others to a location where the car screeched across the road.

“This defendant and three others got out, armed with machetes, where they stabbed a young man, Levi Morrison, aged 17, to death.

“This was a pre-planned knife attack.”

Judge Angela Rafferty QC set a timetable for the case, with a plea and case management hearing for all the defendants on July 2.

Ulysses, who appeared in court by video-link from Thameside Prison, was remanded in custody.

A post-mortem examination previously gave Levi's cause of death as a stab wound leading to catastrophic bleed.

His mother, who did not wish to be named, said loved helping others despite his own additional needs, which included autism and a drop foot caused by nerve damage.

She said his disability, which required him to use a walking stick, made him “like a target.”

Levi attended the Kaleidescope support group in nearby Lewisham, where he received support for his special needs.