Pair found guilty of murder of father who they wrongly thought was carrying drugs
A deadly attack carried out in the mistaken belief that their target possessed a large quantity of drugs has resulted in two men being convicted of murder.
Donald Owusu, 25, of no fixed address, and Harvey MacFoy, 26, of Beachborough Road, Bromley, were both found guilty on Monday of the murder of 33-year-old Albert Amofa in Croydon following a trial at the Old Bailey.
Theo Brown, 32, of Horsham, West Sussex, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice for his role in disposing of the car used in the attack.
MacFoy pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice at the start of the trial.
All three will be sentenced at the same court on a date yet to be set.
The court heard how Albert and a female friend had arrived home and parked his car in Drake Road, Croydon shortly after 9.10pm on December 15, 2019.
They had just returned from dropping Albert’s son back with his mother in west London.
As Albert attempted to get out of the car, he was rushed by two men – one of whom was Owusu – who pushed him back into the vehicle.
The woman, who had already exited the car, was grabbed by MacFoy and forced into the rear of the car.
The man demanded the keys to the car but could not find them and, during the struggle, Owusu stabbed Albert in the leg multiple times.
Panicking, all three suspects ran from the car in the direction of Onslow Road, leaving Albert – who had rolled out of the car onto the pavement – bleeding heavily. The woman was unharmed.
The emergency services were called and Albert was taken to hospital where he died the next day.
A murder investigation was launched and quickly focused on the direction the suspects had been seen fleeing in, in nearby Onslow Road. CCTV identified a Peugeot car that detectives were adamant the suspects had used.
Just over a week after the murder, a car hire firm reported one of their Peugeots as stolen – the company confirmed that the car was fitted with a device that recorded its location each time the engine was turned on and off, enabling them to track its location.
The car had been hired around a week earlier and had been paid for by the girlfriend of MacFoy, leading police to the suspects.
Detective Inspector Jo Sidaway, a homicide detective from the Met’s Specialist Crime, led the investigation and said: “Owusu and MacFoy put a considerable amount of planning into the attack on Albert, who they believed would be in possession of a considerable quantity of cannabis.
“Whether their actual plan was to rob Albert using the threat of violence before making their escape will never be known.
“However, their initial motive is irrelevant as they descended into using lethal violence as events unravelled, leaving Albert with multiple stab injuries as they fled from the scene empty-handed.”
Albert’s family said: “We are very pleased with the outcome of the trial. Albert’s death was senseless and cruel. He suffered for 48 hours in intensive care before passing away. That will always stay with us.”
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