Trio who fatally stabbed innocent man used 'zombie knife' in front of child
16 April 2021, 23:29 | Updated: 17 April 2021, 07:45
Three young men who hunted down an innocent 29-year-old and stabbed him to death used a "zombie knife" in front of a terrified child.
CCTV footage shows the moment Joshua White tried to flee from masked attackers and sent the six-year-old girl flying as she roller skated and he collided with her.
He paused to check on her before trying seek refuge in a shop in Hackney, but Theo Momodu, 18, and Taylar Isaac, 20, closed on him in a pincer movement.
David Kerrigan, 20, was close behind, and Momodu, 18, stabbed Mr White three times in the back with a 2ft-long zombie knife.
Read more: Mothers relive the heartbreak of losing their sons for police knife crime campaign
Isaac was responsible for the fatal wound to the chest during the attack in April 2019, which was delivered with a large knife, jurors were told.
They then escaped and embarked on a high-speed police chase.
The alleged Stokey16 gang members also targeted a second man, who survived.
Momodu had been texted to get some "notches on your blade", prompting the "carefully thought-through expedition", the Old Bailey heard.
The text said he could be "de-recruited".
Mr White was not thought to be targeted specifically because he had no gang affiliations. He had been about to start a job as a train driver.
Isaac and Kerrigan were found guilty of murder, a charge which Momodu had admitted.
All three men from Hackney, north-east London, were also convicted of wounding the second victim with intent.
A fourth defendant, Harley McGivern, 20, also from Hackney, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
Mr White's mother Trisha Sargusingh said her son was "kind, loving, happy and caring", a "loyal friend" and a "sensitive and humble man".
She said: "Coming to court has been so difficult, physically, emotionally and spiritually and although there is no punishment severe enough that can alleviate the horrific manner of Joshua's death we are hopeful that a strong sentence for those convicted may be a deterrent so that other families may never know a pain like ours."
The six-year-old girl was unhurt. She had been waiting for her father inside the shop.
The three men escaped in a white Ford, and later targeted another man as he walked with his partner pushing a baby in a pram, jurors heard. He suffered superficial stab wounds.
The three took off at high speed and were pursued by an armed police vehicle. They crashed into parked vehicles in their escape.
Two more zombie blades, which feature serrated edges and carry words or images about violence, were recovered from the car.
Kerrigan and Isaac both denied being members of a gang.
Both Kerrigan and Momodu denied getting out of the car when Mr Butler was attacked.
The defendants will be sentenced on April 23.
