Man convicted of Harrow houseshare murder

A man has been convicted of murdering another tenant at the houseshare he was living in following a dispute – after police recovered CCTV footage of him covered in blood moments after the killing.

On Monday, 8 December, a jury at Southwark Crown Court convicted Javan Lee, 38 (19.02.1987), of Sussex Road, Harrow, of murder. This was in connection with the death of 48-year-old Corey Graham on Friday, 31 October, 2024.

Lee and Mr Graham both lived in the same houseshare in Sussex Road, Harrow. Police were called to the address on Thursday, 30 October, after Mr Graham was stabbed twelve times in the front garden of the property.

Detective Sergeant Matt Russell, from Specialist Crime North Homicide – who led the investigation – said: “Our thoughts today are with the family of Mr Graham, who lost a loved one in such brutal circumstances – following an apparently trivial dispute between the men.

“During the investigation, officers recovered CCTV of Lee walking along nearby residential streets just after the murder, covered in blood and carrying a knife. This graphically demonstrates his brazenness.

“Lee has shown cowardice and contempt towards his victim. Although he had taken steps to conceal his involvement, evidence obtained by investigators was used to establish his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

“I would like to thank the investigation team for their hard work bringing Lee to justice.”

Around 16:50hrs on Thursday, 30 October, 2024, officers attended the address in Sussex Road with the London Ambulance Service. A third tenant at the houseshare had called the emergency services, after finding Mr Graham with severe injuries in the garden.

Officers found the victim suffering from multiple stab wounds. He was taken to hospital, where he died on Friday, 31 October.

Officers encountered Lee at the scene, but he initially gave a fake name, and denied any involvement in the stabbing. He was ordered to wait in his bedroom, where he escaped through a window.

After six hours on the run, Lee returned to the scene, where he was detained by police. Lee again denied any knowledge of the attack on Mr Graham – but officers had already forced entry into his bedroom and established his true identity. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Although Lee made no comment at police interview, investigators obtained CCTV from nearby properties which revealed his movements immediately after the stabbing. Lee had walked down adjoining residential streets in broad daylight, wearing bloodied clothing and carrying the knife used to stab Mr Graham. Police tracked Lee’s movements on CCTV, and later recovered the murder weapon in nearby Pinner View.

After disposing of the murder weapon, Lee had returned to the houseshare at Sussex Road and cleaned his clothes in the washing machine. All this occurred within a ten-minute period between the stabbing and the arrival of police on the scene.

Messages recovered by officers from the suspect and victim’s devices indicated there had been a dispute between them – with Mr Graham contacting the property’s management to complain of Lee’s mess minutes before he was stabbed. In the same time period, the killer had also called the emergency services to complain about Mr Graham.