Four men sentenced to a total of 79 years for murder of 17-year-old

Four men have been jailed for a total of 79 years’ imprisonment for the fatal shooting and stabbing of 17-year-old Tyler McDermott and the attempted murder of another man in Tottenham in 2023.

The men were all sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday, 14 November, following a three month trial.

Detective Inspector Devan Taylor, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “My thoughts remain with Tyler’s family who have remained dignified throughout this lengthy process. I commend them for the way they have carried themselves during these extremely difficult few months. I know they are absolutely devastated to have lost him in such tragic circumstances.

“Nothing will bring Tyler back but I hope the sentences handed down to these individuals will help provide his friends and family with some form of closure. No family should ever have to suffer the loss of a loved one.

“An innocent young life was lost in such a cold and senseless way. These young men had a choice that night and – for reasons only known to them – they chose to resort to violence.”

Detectives worked around the clock following the incident outside a music studio in Norman Road, Tottenham, to identify the suspects involved in the attack. This complex investigation included pain-staking analysis of hundreds of hours of CCTV footage to bring those involved to justice.

The jury heard that Tyler and his friend left the music recording studio in the early hours of 13 April 2023 when he was shot and then stabbed by a group of men. The prosecution’s case was that tensions began to arise after one of the defendants involved in the case became upset at being filmed inside the studio. This resulted in a confrontation outside the studio and led to Tyler’s murder.

Emergency services attended the scene and took Tyler to hospital, but sadly he succumbed to his injuries and died the following day.

Working around the clock to establish the circumstances of the tragic incident, detectives discovered that Tyrese Barnett shot Tyler and Leo Reid struck him with a large machete when he was already laying on the floor with gunshot injuries.

At the trial, the jury also heard that Barnett had discharged the firearm a second time while aiming the gun at Tyler’s friend. Fortunately, he missed and Tyler’s friend was not harmed.

The examination of CCTV footage from inside and outside of the recording studio on the night of the attack also showed what other people present at the scene were doing.

Rhys Antwi was seen on CCTV arming himself with a sword underneath his clothes inside the studio just before the shooting and the same sword was recovered from his address in Streatham. This showed he was readily armed and capable to use the weapon, should it have been required.

Kalam Bagge, who was in possession of a knife, was also captured on CCTV footage inside the studio just before the murder which revealed that he knew that Barnett had taken possession of the firearm and therefore knew violence was likely.

+ Sentencing details:

Tyrese Barnett, 20 (24.02.04) of Moyers Road, Newham, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 30 years, for murder, attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Leo Reid, 21 (05.10.03) of Tulse Hill, Lambeth, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 22 years, for murder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Rhys Antwi, 20 (30.03.04) of Prentis Road, Lambeth, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 14 years, for murder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Kalam Bagge, 19 (04.03.05) of Nimrod Road, Lambeth, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 13 years, for murder.

The jury concluded that Antwi and Bagge assisted and/or encouraged Barnett and Reid to carry out the fatal attack and they were both convicted of murder alongside Barnett and Reid.

+ Two other men, now aged 20 and 21, also stood trial and were acquitted of Tyler’s murder.