Forest Gate stabbing: Man guilty of knifing teenager 11 times outside primary school

Champion Ganda died of his stab wounds
Met Police
Saphora Smith3 March 2017
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A man has been found guilty of knifing a teenager to death in broad daylight outside a primary school in north London.

Champion Ganda, 17, died after he was stabbed 11 times in a street fight in Forest Gate in May 2013, a court heard.

Paramedics fought to save Mr Ganda’s life performing emergency surgery in the street but he was pronounced dead at the scene on Sandringham Road shortly before 3pm.

Amani Lynch, 20, of Vanguard Close, Canning Town, was found guilty of manslaughter at the Old Bailey on Friday.

Amani Lynch has been found guilty of manslaughter at the Old Bailey  
Met Police

He was also found guilty of wounding, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, Champion’s best friend who was 16 at the time.

The court heard how on the day of the killing Lynch, who was 16 at the time, had taken a cab to Forest Gate shortly before 2pm.

On arriving in the neighbourhood he reportedly spotted Champion, who was from Romford, and his friend in nearby Ratcliff Road.

The jury heard how Lynch started walking toward the pair, before chasing after them when they ran off.

But Champion and his friend then reportedly turned back to confront Lynch and a fight broke out involving weapons including belts, a hammer and a knife.

The jury heard how Champion managed to stagger several yards before collapsing after being stabbed 11 times in the head, chest, arms and legs.

His friend was also stabbed in the legs and chest and required emergency surgery which saved his life.

Lynch reportedly made off from the scene in the cab which he had kept waiting in St Dunstan’s Road.

Later that afternoon he visited a fast food restaurant in Barking Road where was overheard boasting about a stabbing and a “bloody” knife, the jury heard.

Lynch will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on March 24.

Two other men, Devante Clifford, 21, of Lawrence Street, Newham and Marvin Simos, 20, of Claremond Close, North Woolwich were found not guilty on all accounts.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Whellams, from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "This was a brutal, senseless and totally unnecessary attack on a young man on the verge of adulthood, and the ferocity of that attack meant Champion had little chance of survival.

“It has devastated his family and it is only good fortune and the skills of NHS staff that prevented a second death that day.

"This incident happened right outside a primary school in broad daylight and terrified those who witnessed it. It was the result of petty gang rivalry and ended with tragic consequences."

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