A teenager has been sentenced to six years in a youth detention centre for stabbing to death 17-year-old Khaled Saleh in a central London park.
Mr Saleh was attacked and stabbed in St Mary’s Churchyard, Paddington during the middle of the day on June 19 last year.
A 17-year-old boy - who cannot be named for legal reasons - has now been sentenced to six years behind bars for manslaughter.
Detective Inspector Ollie Stride, who later led the Met’s investigation, said: “The violence used in this attack left Khaled with little chance of survival.
“The defendant was in the park in possession of a knife when he was approached by a group including Khaled. He had many options but chose to attack Khaled, who was unarmed, stabbing him once and continuing to attack him after he had stumbled to the floor and could not defend himself.
“He then fled with his two associates leaving Khaled dying on the floor while shocked park-goers desperately tried to save his life.”
Police seized CCTV, which showed the suspect carrying out the attack. A local officer recognised the him, leading detectives to his door.
The teenage suspect - who was then aged 16 - was arrested the day after the attack.
Detectives found that within an hour of the stabbing, he had taken the SIM card out of his phone and wiped the device, in an attempt to evade police.
Police searched a property linked to him, and there they found a “distinctive” jacket he had been seen wearing in CCTV of the attack.
The weapon used to attack Mr Saleh has not been found, but officers found a large knife while searching a separate property.
The boy, who was 16 at the time of the attack but is now 17, claimed he acted in self-defence but CCTV clearly showed that while Mr Saleh had approached him, he had not been physically threatened before he produced the knife and carried out his deadly attack.
The teen was found guilty of manslaughter following a trial at the Old Bailey that ended on February 22.
On Monday (April 29), he was sentenced to six years youth detention with an extended licence period of two years.
Det Insp Stride added: “This was a truly shocking scene and one which starkly outlines the devastating consequences of carrying a knife.”
