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| Chef paid with life for aiding
pal |
Jury hears of gang beating
A BRAVE man sacrificed his life when he went to the aid of a
friend being attacked in Hoxton, a jury heard this week.
Trainee chef Essayas Kassahun was surrounded by a mob of up to 40
youths – many of them hooded – and left for dead.
The 21-year-old victim, who came to Britain from Ethiopia for a
new life, became caught up in a conflict between two rival groups,
an Old Bailey jury was told.
He was trapped by a gang armed with baseball bats and knives and
fatally stabbed, said prosecutor David Hatton, QC.
Mr Kassahun, of Godfrey House, Bath Street, Hoxton, went to help
a pal, 19-year-old Louis Colley, who was under threat.
The teenager was a member of the nearby Toffee Park youth club from
Ironmonger Row.
A group calling themselves the ‘Hoxton Biker Boys’ –
many using cycles – had started hanging about the club territory.
Friction between rival groups triggered confrontation and Mr Colley
was involved in a row on October 8 last year, the Court heard.
“That appears to be the catalyst for a group to return days
later,” said Mr Hatton.
They were in the area of the St Luke’s Estate looking for trouble.
“They were there with the intention of attacking Mr Colley.
Some had armed themselves. Some had baseball bats and at least two
carried knives,” he added.
Describing Mr Colley’s “lucky escape”, when he was
in danger of a beating the QC told the jury “one reason for
it was because his friend Mr Kassahun tried to intervene. He, for
his trouble, was stabbed to death”.
Mr Kassahun was pronounced dead at the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel,
on 13 October.
Before the court are nine local youths.
They deny charges of murder, conspiracy to cause grievous bodily
harm and violent disorder.
The trial is expected to last two months.
The defendants are Bullabek Ringbiong, 20, of Myrtle Walk, Hoxton,
Sam Hallam, 18, of Purcell Street, Hoxton, Pellum McCook, 20, of
Murray Grove, Hoxton, Jamie Martin, 20, and his brother Danny Martin,
18, of Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, and four 17 year olds. They cannot
be identified at this stage because of their ages.
The case continues. |
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