One given life for murder with other two found guilty of manslaughter
L-R - Jose Morais, Samater Hirad, Mohamed Yussuf
The three men who were found guilty of killing a man in Southall have been sentenced.
22-year-old Sufi Osman died shortly after being chased and set upon in September last year – he received a fatal wound to the neck and just over an hour later was dead.
Samatar Hirad, also 22, of Cippenham Lane, Slough, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder at the Old Bailey on 7 October, to serve a minimum of 24 years.
Jose Morais, aged 25, of no fixed address and Mohammed Yussuf, also 25, of Bordars Walk, Hanwell, were both convicted of manslaughter. They were jailed for 11 years and nine years respectively.
Sufi, was found with stab injuries outside a juice bar on The Broadway, Southall, near the junction with Saxon Road on Monday, 23 September, 2019.
Sufi Osman with his mother
He had been chased, stabbed and left for dead on Abbotts Road before managing to stumble along the road and call for help. Emergency services were quickly on the scene and he was rushed to hospital but later pronounced dead. Cause of death was given as shock and haemorrhage and a stab wound to the neck.
Sufi was identified on local CCTV systems at 3.56am walking along The Broadway, coming from the direction of Dane Road. At the same time, Hirad was outside the juice bar, and appears to have noticed Sufi approaching. Hirad made his way into Saxon Road where the others were, before returning to The Broadway.
Hirad and Sufi came into contact with each other at the junction of Saxon Road and The Broadway. They had a conversation which quickly turned into a confrontation. Sufi can be seen to have swung a blow. They fought, and Hirad produced a knife and lunged towards Sufi. At this point, Sufi ran and it was after a chase that he was overwhelmed and attacked. .
Officers recovered a kitchen knife, the blade of which was serrated and 21.5 cm in length, from an alleyway between Dane Road and Marigold Road, a short distance from where Sufi was stabbed.
A complete DNA profile which matched Sufi’s was obtained from the blade, and was identified as the murder weapon. The three men were arrested, charged and convicted almost a year after the killing.
Detective Chief Inspector Rob Pack said: “This was a senseless and tragic loss of a young man’s life. It highlights the continuing blight that those who are prepared to carry and use knives have on our communities. Today’s verdict demonstrates that there are very real consequences for such actions.”
Emergency services were quickly at the scene but as Sufi was blue-lighted to hospital, he died. He was pronounced dead at 5.26am.
It was not long after the murder that the killers were located and arrested
On 24 September, a post mortem examination was carried out by Home Office pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan Earl and cause of death was given as shock and haemorrhage and a stab to the left hand side of the neck.
Officers recovered a kitchen knife, the blade of which was serrated and 21.5 cm in length, from an alleyway between Dane Road and Marigold Road, a short distance from where Sufi was stabbed.
A complete DNA profile which matched Sufi’s was obtained from the blade, and was identified as the murder weapon.
Prior to the attack, Sufi had been chased by four people. A fourth person was arrested however no charges were brought against them. CCTV shows the four men in and around the attack location a number of hours before the murder.
Detective Chief Inspector Rob Pack said: “This was a senseless and tragic loss of a young man’s life. It highlights the continuing blight that those who are prepared to carry and use knives have on our communities. Today’s verdict demonstrates that there are very real consequences for such actions.”
October 14, 2020
