Fico Dougan.

A 16 year-old boy has been charged with the murder of Fico Dougan, 17, who died from four fatal stab wounds to the heart last week.

The 16-year-old from Mitcham, South London, who for legal reasons cannot be named, appeared at Croydon’s Magistrates Court yesterday morning for a preliminary hearing.

The teenager was present via video-link, and only spoke to confirm his name. The boy charged with murdering Dougan was remanded in custody until his next court appearance.

Dougan was found at around 2pm in a house on Ockley Road, Croydon on Wednesday 25 September. He was then taken to hospital by air ambulance and was pronounced dead at 4.30pm.

A post postmortem examination was carried out on Thursday 26 September, giving the cause of death as a fatal stab wound to the heart.

Fico grew up in Thornton Heath, Croydon and attended The John Ruskin College and was studying business management.

The student’s death sparked grief amongst friends and teachers who said: ‘’He put a smile on everyone’s face’’.

Fico’s father, Ernest Dougan has lived in the area for more than 25 years. He said: “My worst nightmare has become real. I keep thinking if there was something I could have done, but realistically there was nothing.’’

Fico is the eleventh teenager to be murdered in London this year and the sixth to be fatally stabbed.