‘Monster’ who beat top chef to death near Notting Hill Carnival before going clubbing guilty of murder
20 February 2025, 15:04 | Updated: 20 February 2025, 15:52
A self-proclaimed "monster" has been found guilty of beating a top chef near Notting Hill Carnival and leaving him dying in the street to go clubbing.
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Omar Wilson, 31, repeatedly punched and kicked Mussie Imnetu during an altercation outside Dr Power restaurant in Queensway, west London, on August 26.
Mr Imnetu, 41, who had worked under chefs Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing, was said to have been "heavily intoxicated" at the time of the incident and died later in hospital.
During his Old Bailey trial, Wilson claimed he acted in self-defence, telling jurors: "I just regret that somebody's life was taken while I was trying to defend mine."
A jury deliberated for 22 hours and 34 minutes to find him guilty of the chef's murder by a majority of 10 to two on Thursday.
The jury had been shown graphic CCTV footage showing Wilson approaching Mr Imnetu and headbutting him.
About a minute later, Wilson punched Mr Imnetu five times in the head, causing him to fall to the ground.
Wilson continued to punch Mr Imnetu repeatedly while he was on his hands and knees, then kicked him in the head.
Prosecutor Jacob Hallam KC had said: "The defendant had, by that point, struck him to his head more than a dozen times. Mr Imnetu had struck the defendant not once.
"At the end of that altercation, Mr Imnetu was dying on the ground and the defendant left and went clubbing in the Ministry of Sound."
As nearby police moved to help Mr Imnetu, Wilson walked away having dropped his sunglasses and keys at the scene.
Mr Imnetu, who worked at The Arts Club, a private member's establishment, was taken to hospital and died four days later without regaining consciousness, jurors heard.
In the aftermath of the attack, Wilson told an associate he "crossed the line".
In a message, he admitted: "There's a monster in me, man, and it's just like sometimes it comes out.
"And I think I've messed up now, I've messed up, everything's finished."
Asked how the carnival was going, he replied: "Can't lie. I did the hands ting (sic) and I think it's a manslaughter," jurors heard.
Following his arrest on August 28, Wilson told police he had struck the victim in "self-defence".
He claimed Mr Imnetu was behaving erratically, harassing girls, and had a bottle.
On being shown CCTV of Mr Imnetu being assaulted on the ground, Wilson said it "seems excessive now" and watching it was "f****** disgusting", jurors were told.
Giving evidence in his trial, Wilson claimed he hit Mr Imnetu because he felt "trapped" and "scared" and believed that the chef was holding a smashed bottle, although that turned out not to be the case.
Asked what he would have done differently with the benefit of hindsight, Wilson said: "The thing that always haunts me the most was the police were so close and I didn't know at the time."
Wilson, of Napier Road, Leytonstone, east London, was remanded into custody and will be sentenced by Judge Philip Katz on Friday February 28.
