Osvaldo de Carvalho stabbed to death near Uxbridge Road
Kamal Sohal running across the Uxbridge Road to commit murder
Four men including three brothers who stabbed a man to death in Acton have been found guilty of his killing him with the siblings convicted of murder.
22-year-old Osvaldo de Carvalho was chased along West Lodge Avenue on the evening of 24 September 2019 after becoming involved in a dispute with the group which included Kamal Sohal of Uxbridge Road, Acton, Sukhminder Sohal of Lockwood Road, Southall, Michael Sohal of Lockwood Road, Southall and Antoine George of Greenhill Gardens, Northolt.
Sukhminder and Michael encountered Osvaldo in Twyford Gardens and called their brother, Kamal who lived nearby, for support and reinforcement. George, who had also been in the flat, went with Kamal to the scene of the dispute. Kamal grabbed a large hunting knife which he brazenly brandished as he ran along the Uxbridge Road to the scene from his home nearby.
After his arrival and following a brief chase the three in the victim’s group ran from the scene; the two friends heading one way, and Osvaldo running into West Lodge Avenue.
Scene at West Lodge Avenue
Witnesses described seeing him being chased by a group of men, some armed with knives. They caught up with Osvaldo, surrounded him and stabbed him, and then ran off leaving him lying on the ground bleeding to death. The three brothers returned to Kamal’s home while George left the area in a car which had been parked on the driveway outside Kamal’s flat. Later that evening Michael and Sukhminder set fire to clothes they had been wearing at the time of the stabbing.
A post mortem examination revealed that Osvaldo had suffered multiple stab wounds, including a deep wound to his left leg which would have been caused by significant force. But a stab wound to his back which was so deep it nearly passed through his body was the fatal blow.
Osvaldo Carvalho
An investigation was launched by detectives from the Specialist Crime South Command, under Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Tunstall.
It was found that on the day of the murder, George and Sukhminder Sohal went to a shop in Hounslow that sold knives and purchased the weapons used and transported them to Kamal’s flat; however those weapons were never recovered.
It was with the assistance of witnesses and piecing together CCTV that police were able to trace and arrest the suspects, who were subsequently charged with murder.
DCI Tunstall, said, “This is a particularly tragic case with Osvaldo’s family having to live with the pain of his loss. We know there had been previous hostility between these two groups and sadly that culminated in the events that unfolded that evening.
“The Sohal brothers had no qualms about arming themselves and – in Kamal’s case – running down a busy main road waving the weapon around in full view of all those around.
“They then subjected Osvaldo - who had no chance of defending himself - to a brutal and sustained attack. Osvaldo’s family, I hope, can find some comfort to their pain, knowing that these people have now been convicted.”
23-year-old Kamal and 25-year-old Sukhminder, and 28-year-old Michael Sohal were found guilty of his murder following a trial at Croydon Crown Court on Tuesday, 16 February.
Left to right: Sukhminder, Michael and Kamal Sohal
Reporting restrictions were imposed on the case as two other men were still to stand trial.
On Friday, 12 March at Croydon Crown Court, 24-year-old Antoine George was found guilty of manslaughter. Karim Azab, 25, was found not guilty of murder.
All four will be sentenced at Croydon Crown Court at a later date.
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
March 18, 2021
