The 17-year-old was ambushed and fatally stabbed by two youths in Chingford last year, reports Marco Marcelline
Two teenagers who ambushed and fatally stabbed a Chingford teenager in April last year have been convicted of his murder.
Chima Osuji, 17, called a “lovely, polite young man” by those who knew him, was targeted in a pre-arranged knife attack on the night of 10th April 2023.
The convicted pair, who were aged 16 at the time of the attack and cannot be named for legal reasons, were found guilty of murder on Monday (22nd January). They will be sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday 1st March.
Detective Chief Inspector Larry Smith who led the investigation, said: “By methodically unpicking the events leading up to the attack on Chima, we could establish both teenagers conspired to carry out this cowardly assault.
“After spending the evening together, they took a minicab to Longshaw Road in Chingford and lay in wait armed with knives, using parked vans as cover, before ambushing an unsuspecting Chima.
“Within seconds, the pair had fled to the waiting cab and left the scene, leaving Chima dying on the pavement. The driver recalls the pair in jubilant mood – a sickening comparison to the devastating scene they had left behind.
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“Neither of them has ever admitted why they carried out this attack. From the evidence gathered it is clear this was not a chance encounter but a planned act of violence that had catastrophic consequences.”
An investigation was launched after police were called at around 9.20pm on 10th April 2023. Chima was found collapsed on the pavement in Longshaw Road suffering stab injuries. Despite the efforts of police and paramedics, along with members of the public who provided first aid, Chima died at the scene.
Detectives quickly established through initial CCTV work that two males had carried out the attack. Chima was in the company of another teenager at the time of the attack who had managed to flee unharmed, police said.
A sword, which had not been used to inflict the fatal injuries on Chima, was found to contain a fingerprint of the other teen attacker.
Both teenagers were arrested within three days of the attack; officers seized phones belonging to the pair and built up a picture of contact that suggested Chima was lured to the scene via a third party.
At the time of his passing, locals, many of whom knew Chima from his time at Longshaw Primary Academy and Heathcote School, remembered him as a “lovely, polite young man”.
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