Five people have been found guilty of their part in the killing of Junior Osborne in Leicester last year.
Mr Osborne, who was 50, was stabbed in the neck as he walked along Narborough Road shortly after 9.30pm on 27 Sepember. He was taken to the Leicester Royal Infirmary but died around an hour later.
Early on, key CCTV footage was obtained that showed the incident occurring and revealed that Mr Osborne had been followed by a group who attacked him and then immediately left the scene.
It was established three of the group were together in Mill Lane just before 6pm, before all five met in Harlaxton Street and took a taxi to an address in Andrewes Walk at around 7.30pm.
On the morning of 28 September two 16-year-old boys – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – and 18-year-old James Williams were arrested. While they were in custody enquiries continued, leading to the arrest of 18-year-old Moises Steiner in the early hours of 29 September.
When Steiner’s phone was examined, officers found videos of the group inside an address where they could be seen holding large knives. The footage also provided a close-up view of their clothing, allowing officers to note any distinctive patterns that could be matched to the clothes worn by the group on CCTV.
All four were subsequently charged, but detectives continued to work to identify other people seen in the CCTV footage. On 4 December, Theobald Budzwa – known as Thendo and aged 18 – was arrested and he too was charged.
Yesterday (Tuesday 14 May), following a five-week trial at Leicester Crown Court, one of the 16-year-old boys was found guilty of his murder and possession of a bladed article.
The other boy – along with Budzwa, of Ash Court, Groby, Steiner, of Dovedale Road in Thurmaston and Williams of Pelham Way, Leicester – were found guilty of manslaughter and possession of a bladed article.
Detective Inspector Mark Parish, from EMSOU, was the senior investigating officer. He said: “One of the boys admitted stabbing Junior but tried to argue that he’d only intended to injure him and not kill him, which I don’t believe is true.
“His actions – along with the rest of the group – were captured on CCTV. I’m firmly of the belief this was a planned and co-ordinated attack to kill Junior. I hope his loved ones feel that justice has been done and that the group are now going to be serving substantial prison sentences.”
All five are due to be sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on Tuesday 11 June.
