Valentine’s Day Killers in Canning Town

Five killers in a stolen BMW mowed down a rival on Valentine’s Day and stabbed him 15 times, a court heard.

Lord Promise Nkenda, 17, was walking with two friends when he was savagely attacked in Butchers Road, Canning Town, east London.

Four of the male youths aged between 14 and 17 at the time have been convicted of murder while Shemar Dawes, 19, denies involvement.

Alan Kent, QC, prosecuting said: ‘At 8pm on 14 February 2018, Lord Promise Nkenda was murdered in Goldwing Close. He was 17 years old.

‘He was deliberately run down by a stolen car which contained 5 youths who ranged in age from 14-17 years. The running down, however, didn’t kill him.

‘He went over the bonnet and ran off. That could have been the end of it.

‘But, so determined were the attackers, that the driver turned the car around and chased him up the road.

‘In a vain attempt to escape, Promise ran down a footpath that led towards some houses in Goldwing Close.

‘The driver stopped the car by the footpath, enabling four of the youths to get out. They chased him on foot. They caught him within seconds.

They repeatedly stabbed him in the chest, back and neck. He suffered 15 stab wounds and collapsed from his wounds.

‘Despite emergency assistance, he could not be saved and was pronounced dead at scene at 20:38 hours.

‘The four who stabbed him ran back along the footpath to the waiting car and made their escape.

‘Unfortunately for them, they left a trail of evidence which enabled the police to identify them all.

‘We do not know what they perceived in their minds he had done to warrant this attack; often the police are unaware of background, simply because many young people do not involve police in their disputes.

‘What we do know for sure, however, is that he was murdered because four people have been convicted of his murder.

Therefore, they each intended to kill him or to cause hm at least really serious harm.

‘The issues in this trial will be whether Shemar Dawes was part of that group and if he was, whether he too intended to kill or to cause really serious harm.’

Two hours before the attack the BMW belonging to Helen Egner was stolen from a carpark outside of residential block of flats on Vaughan Road.

As she was approaching her motor, she noticed two males standing near it and when she opened the front door to enter, she was pushed, and her keys taken from her.

While trying to retrieve her key set she was pushed again and fell to the floor as the second male got in and the pair drove off.

Dawes, of Newland Road, Hornsey, denies murder.

The trial continues.