A 27-year-old Nigerian man who stabbed a father of two to
death in a busy high street while his young daughter was in a nearby
shop has been found guilty of killing him.
Abraham Omotoso of Tudor Gardens, Harrow, was found guilty
of manslaughter at the Old Bailey, Friday, 15 September, following a
two-week trial. He was found not guilty of murder.
He will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, 13 October.
He will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, 13 October.
Police were called at about 18:50hrs on Monday, 27 February
2017 to reports that a man had been stabbed in High Street, Wealdstone.
The man was taken to a central London hospital by London
Ambulance Service but despite the best efforts of medical staff and
extensive surgery, he was pronounced dead at about 02:30hrs on Tuesday, 28 February.
The victim was identified as Mohamed Al-Zufairi, 34, from
Harrow. A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as a stab
wound to the chest.
Shortly before 18:50hrs on 27 February,
Mohamed arrived in High Street, Wealdstone, with his eight-year-old
daughter. He sent her into Poundland to buy some items while he waited
outside. It was then that he was approached by Omotoso.
Witnesses reported that they had a short argument before
Omotoso, who was wearing a parka-style coat with the hood pulled up,
stabbed Mohamed and ran from the scene still holding the knife.
Luckily, Mohamed’s daughter did not witness the incident. On Tuesday, 28 February police were notified that the suspect could have been someone by the name of Femi Omotoso.
At about 18:00hrs on 28 February
he was arrested on the suspicion of murder under the name of Abraham
Omotoso at Gatwick airport having just purchased a one-way ticket to
Nigeria with cash.
Detectives carried out a number of enquiries, including
reviewing CCTV which showed Mohamed walking with his daughter in High
Street on 27 February before she goes into Poundland.
It also shows Omotoso walking in High Street in a
‘purposeful’ manner before approaching Mohamed, fleeing the scene and
getting in a black Range Rover nearby and driving away.
Officers also tracked Omotoso’s movements in the days
leading up to the murder and he was caught on CCTV wearing the same
parka-style coat on two separate occasions.
Detectives also examined Omotoso’s mobile phone data which showed it was inactive between 12:40hrs and 19:09hrs on 27 February,
which was not in line with Omotoso’s usual daily phone use patterns.
The phone’s movement also matched the movement of the Range Rover that
left the scene of the crime.
Omotoso remained silent in all of his police interviews. He was charged on 6 March.
Detectives believe the motive for the attack was an ongoing feud between the victim’s brothers and Omotoso’s brother and friends.
Detectives believe the motive for the attack was an ongoing feud between the victim’s brothers and Omotoso’s brother and friends.
Detective Inspector Jon Meager, the investigating officer from the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, said:
"This was a brutal attack in a busy high street which
resulted in a young father losing his life. While his daughter did not
witness the assault, it is something that is undoubtedly going to affect
her for life.
“Omotoso has shown no remorse for his actions on that day. I
hope his conviction gives Mohamed’s family a measure of closure and
comfort."
In a statement, Mohamed’s brother Jafar said:
"Mohamed was a family man, his family came first. I still
can not really believe what has happened to Mohamed, the constant grief
just gets worse. It’s like a massive hole just suddenly appeared in our
family, our big brother was there one minute and suddenly he was
snatched away. None of us can get a grasp of or understand. It makes it
so much worse that we know that he was killed.
"I think it has hit his daughter the hardest. She did not
see her dad being stabbed, but was with him. She walked to the local
shops to get some sweets with her dad and returned home without him. She
was the last one with, holding his hand as she says ‘Daddy never came
home with me.
"Our lives will never be the same, they have been scarred."
"Our lives will never be the same, they have been scarred."
No comments:
Post a Comment