Man found guilty of murder in south west London

Man found guilty of murder in south west London

A man has been convicted of murder following a Met Police investigation that saw him arrested just 10 minutes after officers arrived.

Salah Ahmed (known as Salah Al-Mahmoodi), 22 (02.01.2003) of Laitwood Road, Balham was found guilty of murder on Wednesday, 24 September following a three-week trial at Kingston Crown Court.

The court heard that 18-year-old Issa Ali Musa Abdularaman-Baracat was stabbed by Salah, who was also his neighbour, because of a dispute about a phone.

Detective Chief Inspector, Brian Howie senior investigating officer from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command said: “This is a tragic, senseless murder and our thoughts are with Issa’s loved ones. We hope that they feel some justice that Ahmed has been found guilty.

“Due to the quick work of Met officers at the scene, Ahmed was arrested swiftly and vital evidence was gathered. My team then put together a very strong case and proved that Ahmed killed his friend on the street.

“However, Ahmed consistently lied to officers and authorities, from basic details such as his age, to denying that he had killed his friend despite the strong evidence against him. He still hasn’t given a reason as to why he murdered Issa but we believe it started over a minor dispute about a phone.

“These lies added challenges to our investigation when it came to finding out about his background, history, and piecing the events together that led to Issa’s death. But we worked closely with our partner agencies to find this information.

“This is another violent criminal who has been taken off the streets. Ahmed took a knife out into public with the intention of using it. He had no regard for his friend or other members of public in the area.

“Despite his lies, we’re pleased he has been found guilty and justice has been served.

“Violence and knife crime will never be tolerated, and we are committed to making London a safer city.”

Police were called at 06:01hrs on Monday, 28 October to reports that a man had been stabbed on Laitwood Road, Balham.

Officers arrived and paramedics from the London Ambulance Service were treating Issa at the scene. He was taken to hospital, but sadly died later that day.

An investigation was launched and less than 10 minutes after arriving, Ahmed was identified as a suspect before being arrested at the scene for attempted murder.

Minutes later, a kitchen knife was discovered outside a nearby flat which would turn out to be the murder weapon.

The court heard how both Salah and Issa were neighbours and friends who lived in the same building in Laitwood Road, Balham.

They were seen together in the early hours of 28 October, with Issa visiting Ahmed’s room just after 02:00hrs.

At 05:09hrs, CCTV showed Issa going back to his own room. Ahmed then retrieved the murder weapon from the kitchen area before heading towards Issa’s room.

An altercation took place between the pair which spilled outside onto the road before Ahmed stabbed Issa.

As Issa collapsed on the road, Ahmed fled the scene to dispose of the murder weapon. He returned shortly after and proceeded to record a video and take photographs on his phone with Issa dying in the background.

The emergency services had been called during this time and a member of the public assisted Issa until paramedics arrived.

Ahmed remained in the area, even filming the paramedics as they treated Issa, before officers arrived and arrested him.

After Issa died later that day, Ahmed was then re-arrested for murder while still in custody and charged with murder on 29 October.

He will be sentenced on Thursday, 25 September.