Man sentenced for the murder of Abdul-Latif Pouget

A man has been jailed for life with a minimum of 24 years at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, 22 July after stabbing a man to death and leaving him to die in the middle of a side street in Islington.

Oguzcan Dereli, 26 (08.04.98) of Alexander Road, Islington, was found guilty at the same court of the murder of 20-year-old Abdul-Latif Pouget following a two-week trial that concluded on Friday, 18 July.

The court heard that on Friday, 18 October 2024, Abdul had turned into a side street off Clerkenwell Road and parked his moped. Less than a minute later a blue Ford Focus estate pulled up alongside Abdul’s moped.

Dereli calmly left the vehicle, inadvertently dropping his phone on the road, before approaching Abdul and launching a vicious assault, fatally stabbing him in the thigh, causing significant blood loss. Abdul collapsed on the pavement and Dereli walked back to his vehicle before driving away and leaving him to die.

Kawsaw Pouget, Abdul’s mother, said:

“Our beloved Abdul-Latif Pouget — known to us simply as Abs — had just turned 20, two months before the attack. His life was taken from us too early. He was young, intelligent and full of promise.

“Though he cannot speak for himself at this hearing, we are here to honour him and speak in his name.

“We want to express our heartfelt thanks to the emergency services, police, the hospital staff, the public who assisted him on that night and the local community who stood with us. You have been a ray of hope and support, and there are no words that can truly express our gratitude.”

Detective Chief Inspector Lucie Card, who led the Met’s investigation, said:

“My thoughts and that of my team remain with Abdul’s family, a much loved brother, friend and neighbour.

“A young man has tragically died in a senseless and brutal way. I can only hope that this sentence can go some way in providing a sense of justice to Abdul’s family.”

On the day of Abdul’s death, police were called by the London Ambulance Service to Back Hill, Islington, at 21:36hrs, following reports of a moped colliding with a wall.

Officers attended and while paramedics were treating Abdul they discovered a series of stab injuries. He was rushed to an east London hospital but despite the best efforts of the medical team he died three days later.

An investigation was launched and detectives from the Met specialist crime team began gathering evidence.

They reviewed hours of CCTV that captured the defendant drive the Ford Focus estate down Back Hill road, then approach and assault Abdul. In the footage it is clear that he was armed with a large machete.

Details from the CCTV footage of the vehicle used in the incident proved that the car was registered to Dereli. However, when officers went to arrest him he was not at his home address.

On the evening of Saturday, 19 October 2024, Dereli and his partner were spotted checking into a hotel on Old Street, Shoreditch.

On Sunday, 20 October officers approached the hotel, arresting Dereli and later charging him with murder the following day.

During the trial, Dereli said that he had the machete with him because it had been left in his car by a friend, and that he was planning to throw it in the canal when he saw Abdul.

However, the jury did not believe this account, and he was found guilty.