Peckham Rye Park murder: Family have their say after two are convicted

The family of a man who was stabbed to death while sitting on a park bench have spoken of their anguish, one year on from his tragic killing.

A man and a teenager who were traced to their home addresses by police through CCTV footage have been convicted of killing Kalabe Legesse on December 30, 2022 – just over a year ago. They stabbed the 29-year-old while robbing him of his mobile phone.

The pair – Nah’shun Thomas, 20, of Bournemouth Road, Peckham, and a 17-year-old boy – were convicted of murder at Croydon Crown Court on Friday.

A spokesman for Mr Legesse’s family said: “Nothing can bring back our son Kalabe.

“He was doing nothing wrong on the night that he was killed and we will never understand why he was murdered over a mobile phone.

“The defendants have not shown any remorse for what they did to him. We have recently passed the anniversary of his death. Christmas and New Year for us will never be the same again.

“Kalabe was loved by everyone he met and had an exciting future ahead of him. He will never be able to have a family of his own, and our family will never have him back.

“We are grateful to the investigation team for their hard work for over a year to bring these people to justice.”

Kalabe’s attackers have been remanded in custody until sentencing, on Friday, April 19.

Investigating officer Detective Inspector Adam Guttridge said: “The defendants were riding around the area, armed with a knife that they were prepared to use to commit violent offences.

“For cruelly and needlessly ending Kalabe Legesse’s life, they will have years ahead of them in prison to reflect on their actions and the lives they have destroyed.”

At around 8pm on that fateful night, Mr Legesse, who was from Southwark, was sitting on a bench at Peckham Rye Park when the defendants approached him, riding bikes, and threatened him in an attempt to steal his mobile phone.

During this robbery, Mr Legesse was stabbed once in the chest – a wound that would end his life.

After the stabbing, the defendants left Mr Legesse collapsed on the park bench, where, despite the efforts of officers and medics, he died.

A post-mortem examination determined that the cause of death was a haemorrhage, resulting from a single stab wound to the heart.

When Mr Legesse was approached by the defendants he had been talking on the phone to a friend. However, when emergency services arrived and a crime scene was established there was no sign of his phone.

The friend he had been talking to would later tell police that he heard the suspects saying “Where are you from?’ and ‘What have you got on you?”

As part of their investigation, detectives trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV and by retracing the suspects’ movements they were able to identify their home addresses.

Both were arrested on suspicion of murder on January 19, 2023.

Police enquiries uncovered that the defendants had committed two other mobile phone robberies shortly before Mr Legesse’s murder.

In the early stages of the trial both defendants pleaded guilty to both of those robberies.

When officers searched the home address of the 17-year-old, they found, in his grandmother’s bedroom, a sheathed black-handled hunting knife that was wrapped in a black Puffa-style coat. Forensic examination would later find traces of Kalabe’s blood inside the sheath.

Both were charged on January 21 last year, and appeared at Croydon Magistrates Court where they were remanded in custody pending trial.

DI Guttridge added: “My thoughts today are with Kalabe Legesse’s family as they continue to come to terms with their loss. It is my sincere wish that they find some comfort in knowing that justice has been served.”

Picture: The Met