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| ‘Stone-age club’ weapon
used in killing |
Seven youths in Old Bailey dock
A DEADLY wooden club which could have been copied from a Stone
Age weapon was used to bludgeon a defenceless man in Islington,
a jury heard.
But this week one of Essayas Kassahun’s alleged attackers said
he was trying to help, not harm, the victim.
Mr Kassahun was fatally wounded near Somerfields supermarket close
to the junction of Bath Street and Old Street, in Finsbury.
The baseball bat had been carefully fitted with a fatal extra –
a long thick screw coming at right angles and protruding five inches
from the side of the top.
Pathologist Dr Fagan Earl told an Old Bailey court that the bat
was wielded with such force that it left a two centimetre gash at
the side of the victim’s temple.
A kitchen knife with nine-inch blade was also found near the spot
where the trainee chef was attacked.
The jury has heard how the popular 21-year-old forfeited his own
safety when he bravely went to the defence of a pal being surrounded
and beaten by a mob.
His hooded killer rode away on a bike and later burned his clothing
and got rid of the bat in the Grand Union Canal.
Essayas was surrounded by up to 40 youths – many with their
faces hidden by hoodies – just outside the St Luke’s estate
and left for dead.
The innocent victim who came to the UK from Ethiopia for a new life,
got caught up in a conflict between two rival groups, said prosecuting
QC David Hatton.
Essayas, of Godfrey House, Bath Street, Hoxton, went to help a mate,
19-year-old Louis Colley who was under threat of serious harm and
being beaten.
Before the court are seven local youths.
They face charges of murder, conspiracy to cause grievous bodily
harm and violent disorder. Bullabek Ringbiong, 21, of Myrtle Walk,
Hoxton, Sam Hallam, 18, of Purcell Street, Hoxton, and two 17-year-olds
from Shoreditch who cannot be named for legal reasons, deny murder,
plotting to injure and violent disorder.
Judge Richard Hone QC directed the jury to clear Jermaine Makinde,
19, of Fanshaw Street, Hoxton. Pellum McCook, 20, of Murray Grove,
Hoxton, Jamie Martin, 20, and his brother, Danny Martin, 18, of
Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, were cleared of murder by the jury on
the judge’s direction. They still face charges of violence.
One of the alleged attackers, Ringboing, told the court: “I
was there but I wasn’t involved in the killing.” He said
he was in the role of peacemaker – trying to help the stricken
Mr Kassahun.
A second accused, Hallam, also maintained his innocence. |
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