Man who stabbed schoolboy to dying is discovered responsible of homicide

A man who stabbed a ‘shy’ 17-year-old boy to death in broad daylight before dumping his body into a canal has been found guilty of murder.

Victor Lee was stabbed twice in the back and once in the chest on the towpath of the Grand Union Canal in west London in a ‘shockingly violent attack’ on June 25 last year.

Despite local people quickly rescuing him from the water and emergency treatment by police officers and ambulance colleagues, he died at the scene.

Elijah Gokool-Mely, 18, was convicted of murdering the teenager and robbing him after a jury at the Old Bailey deliberated for more than 16 hours.

Met Police detectives established that robbery was the motive for the brutal attack with Gookol-Mely stealing Victor’s bike and his rucksack, which officers believe contained a number of knives.

Elijah Gokool-Mely, 18, was convicted of murdering the teenager and robbing him after a jury at the Old Bailey deliberated for more than 16 hours

Victor Lee (pictured) was stabbed twice in the back and once in the chest on the towpath of the Grand Union Canal in west London in a ‘shockingly violent attack’ on June 25 last year

Police divers in the canal under Scrubs Lane in west London, following the fatal stabbing 

Victor – who was described by his family as shy, easily manipulated and at risk of being exploited by others – had met his killer having developed an interest in buying weapons online which he wished to sell for profit.

The trial heard how he had bought knives and a crossbow on the internet in the months before his death, which he intended to sell on.

Officers believe that Victor did not fully understand the harm that others could cause with the weapons that he appeared to enjoy trading.

A 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy were also each charged with murder and robbery but they were both acquitted of both counts on Monday.

The prosecution told jurors during the trial that Victor appears to have met up with the three defendants at the towpath at around 3.30pm and sold them a crossbow.

It was said the same group then met for a second time at the same location at around 5.30pm, after Victor was asked if he had any knives to sell, which is when the attack occurred.

There were no witnesses to the killing but one witness saw the tallest of the three boys – Gokool-Mely – pushing Victor into the canal, the court heard.

The Met’s investigation linked Gokool-Mely to the murder through extensive analysis of mobile phones and the associated data, as well as CCTV from the area around the crime scene, accounts from witnesses and forensic evidence obtained from the scene and from Victor’s stolen bag discarded nearby.

A knife was recovered from Gookol-Mely’s home address, on which Victor’s blood and the defendant’s DNA was found.

The Met’s homicide investigation, led by Specialist Crime Command detectives, made rapid progress, and Gookol-Mely was arrested along with two other teenagers on June 30, 2023. Officers charged each of them the following day with murder and robbery.

Gokool-Mely will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, July 19.

Met Police detectives established that robbery was the motive for the brutal attack with Gookol-Mely stealing Victor’s bike and his rucksack, which officers believe contained a number of knives

Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie, the senior investigating officer who led the investigation, said: ‘This conviction was the result of a tenacious and thoroughly professional police investigation, supported by a range of specialists and partners including the Crown Prosecution Service.

‘However, I would like the focus today to be on the tragedy that Victor’s family have suffered and on the part that young people being able to easily buy knives and other weapons played in his death.

‘Victor was a young man who was not directly involved with gangs or criminality – he had an interest in buying, fixing and selling bikes. He had energy and drive but sadly not enough wisdom.

‘His family have told me that he had an inability to properly assess situations, people or threats.

‘When Victor crossed paths with the defendant, he took advantage of him and ultimately subjected him to a sudden, unprovoked and shockingly violent assault.

The crime scene at the Grand Union Canal, showing the forensic tent and medical paraphernalia

‘Having worked so intensely on this case – speaking to Victor’s family and thinking about his life and tragic death – it will forever be a source of regret to me that this vulnerable but independent young man was able to buy weapons online simply by altering the date of birth in his passport. 

‘Having previously purchased knives, Victor brought a crossbow online in the days before he was killed, and seems to have sold this to his killer at around 3pm on the day of his murder. He was robbed and murdered when seeking to sell knives to him later that day.

‘Apparently unable to grasp the devastating consequences of his actions, he probably regarded this as an interesting scheme to make some money. But, having met his killer after arranging to sell the weapons via Snapchat, this scheme sparked the events which cost him his life.

‘Victor had his life ahead of him and his family have been torn apart by what happened to him. They are understandably still struggling to come to terms with his murder, and the events that led to his death at such a young age. My thoughts are with them today, and I can only hope that today’s conviction can bring them some small measure of comfort.’