Four men have been jailed for the killing of 32-year-old Emmanuel Odunlami in the City of London which occurred in May 2022.
Emmanuel Odunlami, 32, was killed while out celebrating his birthday at an event at Haz restaurant near St Paul’s Cathedral in London in the early hours of 2 May 2022.
The gang of thieves stabbed music industry boss, 32, to death for FAKE ‘£125,000’ Patek Philippe watch.
Jordell Menzies, aged 27, from Brent, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 31 years for murdering Mr Odunlami. Additionally, Menzies has been sentenced to eight years for robbery, to run concurrently.
Quincy Ffrench, aged 28 from Tottenham has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for manslaughter and seven years and four months for robbery, to run concurrently.
Louis Vandrose, aged 28, from Thornton Heath has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for manslaughter and seven years and four months for robbery, to run concurrently.
Kavindu Hettiarachchi (aka KBrown Lankan), 31 from Harrow has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for manslaughter and 10 years for robbery, to run concurrently.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told jurors previously: “The grim and tragic irony of all this is that there is a good reason to think that the Patek Philippe watch wasn’t even genuine.
The defendant – although of course he wasn’t to know that at the time – had killed Emmanuel Odunlami for a fake watch.”
Emmanuel’s mum told the court how her heart still beats for her “one in a trillion” son
Turning to her son’s killers, she said: “They have taken the joy out of my life and I’m always angry and I’m never like this. My heartbeat has changed, and I feel very angry with the world.
“It’s hard to believe he’s dead. These people will come out of prison and live their lives, but two boys have lost their dad and they just walk away. I don’t think that should happen.
“No-one should take a life, only God can do that. How can you take someone’s life? It’s so wrong.”
Emmanuel’s fiancée Rajbir Kaur said:” Emmanuel was so smart and a really great hands-on father. We all loved him and miss him so much.
“To be attacked for the watch he was wearing just doesn’t make sense even now. It was a senseless and unprovoked attack. There has been no remorse from those who did this. It is a tragedy, that we will deal with for the rest of our lives.
“I want to thank family and friends and my clients for their understanding. I’m so grateful to our child’s school for keeping him grounded and our youngest son’s nursery for their support. There are so many charities who have reached out and helped, including Smile for Joel, Victim Support, The Ben Kinsella Trust and Support after Murder and Manslaughter (SAMM). Finally, I’d like to thank the City of London Police for their investigation and bringing us the truth and to the Family Liaison Officers who have been so supportive.
“I never imagined this happening to us. Knife crime is such a problem, and it is hard to feel safe anymore.
“I just want to make Emmanuel proud and give our children the best life possible.”
Credit: The SUN
