Teenager found guilty of 'violent, calculated and abhorrent' murder in Luton

A teenage boy who fatally stabbed another teenager to death in Luton has been convicted of his murder.

Yesterday (November 6), the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of murder at Luton Crown Court for his role in the stabbing of Derrick Kinyua, 19, in April. Police received reports from paramedics that a man had been stabbed and had collapsed at the junction of Hucklesby Way, Hitchin Road and Crescent Road.

At the scene, emergency services treated the victim, who was later formally identified as Mr Kinyua. He was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. A postmortem revealed that his cause of death was stab wounds to the neck and chest.

Police established that four people had confronted Mr Kinyua outside an address he was staying at in Crescent Road.

Two of the men, including the 17-year-old boy, were filmed on CCTV carrying large knives and lunging at Mr Kinyua, stabbing him several times. Mr Kinyua made it to the main road before collapsing, where he was found.

A week after the Major Crime Unit launched a murder investigation, the 17-year-old boy was arrested. The other attacker armed with a knife is believed to have fled the country hours after the stabbing.

The two others who were at the scene, Malcolm Mangawa, 23, of Verde Close, Luton, and Shakeel Morton, 20, of Upwell Road, Luton, were found not guilty of murder at Luton Crown Court.

Sentencing is due to take place later this month.

Detective Inspector Iain MacPherson, of the Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, who led the investigation, said: “This was an incredibly violent, calculated, and abhorrent crime, which has not only seen a young man lose his life, but left another teenager facing life behind bars.

“The incident that led to Mr Kinyua’s death affected the local community and partner agencies in many ways.

“Knife crime remains an area of concern and priority across the country, but more locally we have all too recently seen mindless violence claim another young life in Luton.

“I’m pleased our investigation has resulted in a conviction and hope this serves as a warning and reiteration of our zero-tolerance towards knife crime and violence of any kind.”