In Loving Memory of Our Dad, Mark Carroll

My name is Ayisha, and together with my sister Danielle, we are fundraising for a gravestone for our dad, Mark Carroll, who was tragically murdered in St Martin’s Gardens, Camden, on 10 April 2024. Losing him in such a violent and preventable way has devastated our entire family, and after two years of trying, we are now asking for help to finally give him the dignity, peace, and remembrance he deserves.

What Happened to Our Dad

On that day, our dad was fatally stabbed by Rasheed Rahman, a man who had been arrested and released three times in the week leading up to the murder for violent public‑order offences:

Despite this escalating behaviour, he was repeatedly released back into the community.

Rahman had also committed a Section 18 GBH just weeks earlier, on 21 February 2024.

The knife used to kill our dad was signed out from his supported‑living accommodation, Soaring Heights Care, the day before the murder. Staff later confirmed the knife was missing — but no one contacted the police.

These failures have been widely reported in the press, and they continue to haunt us. Our dad’s death was not just tragic — it was preventable.

How This Destroyed Our Family

For Me (Ayisha)

Since losing our dad, my mental health has been severely affected. I have been in and out of hospital for treatment, and the trauma has made working and saving extremely difficult. As a self‑employed person, I had no sick pay, no financial support, and no stability during the worst period of my life.

I live in private rented accommodation, paying £1550 a month before bills. Every spare penny has gone toward trying to save for his gravestone, but grief has made consistent work almost impossible.

For My Sister, Danielle

Danielle had two young children at the time our dad was murdered, and she was also pregnant with her third. The shock of what happened pushed her into emotional and financial strain no mother should ever face. She had to protect her children while grieving her dad, while carrying another baby, while trying to stay strong for everyone around her.

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

How We’ve Been Honouring Him

For the past two years, we have been going to the memorial site in St Martin’s Gardens, where he was killed. We have laid flowers, candles, and handwritten notes. We have stood in the exact place where we lost him, trying to honour him in the only way we could.

We have photos of the memorial we’ve created there — moments of grief, love, and remembrance that we will include on the GoFundMe page.

But as much as we try to honour him at the place where his life was taken, what we want more than anything is to honour him at the place where he now rests.

We want to be able to visit his grave and see his name.

We want his grandchildren to have somewhere peaceful to remember him.

We want a place of dignity, not just a memorial at the site of violence.

Why We Are Asking for Help

It has been two years.

Two years of visiting a grave with no headstone.

Two years of feeling like our dad has been forgotten by the systems that failed him.

Two years of trying to save but never being able to reach the amount needed.

We are ashamed that we haven’t been able to afford this ourselves — but we are doing everything we can. We just want to give our dad the dignity he deserves.

What Your Donation Will Do

Your donation will go directly toward:

Right now, there is nothing.

No marker.

Just a patch of ground where our dad rests.

We want to change that.

Why This Means Everything to Us

Our dad was gentle, kind, and loved by everyone who knew him. He didn’t deserve what happened. He didn’t deserve to be failed repeatedly by the systems meant to protect him. And he doesn’t deserve to be without a gravestone two years later.

We want to give him peace.

We want to give ourselves a place to heal.

We want his grandchildren to grow up knowing exactly where their grandad rests.

If you can help — even a small amount — it would mean more than we can ever express.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for helping us honour our dad. ❤️

The Independent

BBC

Met Police

We love you forever Dad, and we fight for you every single day. Always in our heart.