Christians Under Attack

Ruth Marriott told an inquest into her son's death that she heard gunshots on the day Adrian was shot five times in the head a few weeks before his 21st birthday.

Mr Marriott, an accountancy student and gang member, was killed in a park near his home in Brixton, south London, in June 2004.

Three members of a rival gang, known as the Muslim Boys, were cleared in September last year of conspiracy to murder Mr Marriott after the prosecution offered no evidence at the Old Bailey.

His mother told the inquest at Southwark Coroners' Court yesterday: "We heard the shooting. We heard gun fire.

"The thought did strike me that Adrian could be involved, but it was a fleeting thought. Then we heard from police the following evening what had happened.

"Adrian was told on the Sunday prior to his death that he would be killed if he did not become a Muslim by the Wednesday, which was the day he died."

Asked by the coroner, John Sampson, whether her son had taken the threat seriously, Mrs Marriott said: "I do not think he did."

She said she had last seen him on the afternoon he was killed.

"He was happy. He was pestering me to order something for him out of my catalogue," she said. "Adrian was very much a family man."

The coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.

Det Sgt John Stafford, who led the murder investigation, told the inquest that he was still searching for evidence to convict Mr Marriott's killers.

He said: "It does indeed remain a live matter. We are still keen to talk to witnesses