Fourth man convicted following death of Lavaun Witter in Croydon

A fourth man has been convicted as part of an investigation into the death of a man in Croydon in 2021.

On 5 February 2021, 22-year-old Lavaun Witter was fatally stabbed in the leg with a Samurai sword after four men broke into a flat in Wisbeach Road.

The four men, who were armed with long knives and swords, demanded drugs to be handed over and slashed through an internal door to get to Lavaun, who had barricaded himself in with two men and a 16-year-old boy.

Lavaun and the 16-year-old, who also suffered a stab injury, managed to run away from the scene, but Lavaun collapsed a short distance away. Despite the efforts of emergency services, he died a short time later.

Homicide detectives immediately launched an investigation and a mixture of witness statements and CCTV identified Tyreece Riggon, Julian Russell, Tyreece Wolfries-Parkin and Alex Pasley as the men involved in the fatal attack.

On 18 February 2021, police raided an address linked to Riggon and he and Russell were arrested. A subsequent search of an address linked to Russell recovered a Louis Vuitton bag belonging to Lavaun.

Wolfries-Parkin and Pasley were also arrested in the following weeks.

Detectives built up the case against all four defendants via witness statements and analysis of the activity of phone numbers linked to them before and after the fatal attack.

All were charged with Lavaun's murder as well as attempted murder and attempted grievous bodily harm of the 16-year-old.

A trial at the Old Bailey began on 17 July 2023 and Julian Russell (18.09.1998) of Sanfield Road, CR7 and Tyreece Wolfries- Parkins, (06.10.2002) were found guilty of murder. Alex Pasley (01.10.1995) of Paxton Grove, Coulsdon was found guilty of manslaughter.

A re-trial began on 4 November 2024 and on Thursday, 12 December, Tyreece Riggon, (29.09.2000) of Armistice Gardens, SE25 was found guilty of attempted GBH. Pasley was also found guilty of attempted GBH in relation to the attack on the 16-year-old boy.

Sentencing will take place at the Old Bailey on 16 January 2025.

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Nolan, who led the investigation, said: "A shocking level of violence was used by these men, who were determined to gain possession of drugs they believed to be inside the flat.

"Lavaun stood no chance against four men armed with large knives, including a Samurai sword.

"It is important that all four men involved in the Lavaun have been identified and brought to justice.

"The streets of London will be safer now they will be in jail for a considerable period of time."