BREAKING Kensington Palace gardener stabbed to demise ‘after turning man’s baseball cap’
A man who knifed a Kensington Palace gardener to death before ringing police from a telephone box to surrender himself has been caged for life with a minimum term of 27 years.
Recorda Davey-Ann Clarke, 35, was set upon in Linacre Road, Willesden Green, north-west London, whilst out marking his girlfriend’s birthday just after Christmas last year.
What started as “friendly chit chat” between Mr Clarke and his partner and Elyas Moussa’s group escalated into a series of clashes between the two men after Mr Clarke flipped Moussa’s baseball cap backwards.
Moussa, 30, of no fixed address, admitted possession of a blade and was found guilty of murdering Mr Clarke, known as Ricardo to family and friends, earlier this month following a two-week trial at the Old Bailey.
Judge Usha Karu said: “The fact is that when you went back to Linacre Road you were armed and you knew it.
“You instigated the violence there by chasing him and you took the knife out after Ricardo Clarke had either been pushed by you or he tripped and went to the ground.
“He did not really pose any danger to you at that time, quite the opposite, it made him vulnerable to attack by you.”
Speaking of father-of-two Mr Clarke, she said: “He was working as a gardener at Kensington Palace having applied for a gardening apprenticeship and beaten 500 others to secure that position.
“He took great pride in his job.
“He was part of a close-knit, loving family. The very moving victim personal statements of his brother, sister, nieces, cousins and friends have been read today.
“They are grieving for someone who was very much part of their lives and closely bonded to. He had a good sense of humour, was fun-loving, caring, strong and resilient and always there for those he loved.”
Over 10 victim personal statements were presented by the prosecution in court on Wednesday.
The mother of Mr Clarke’s children, Lori-Jane Forrest, confessed she finds herself “crying uncontrollably throughout the day”.
“I was Ricardo’s best friend, love of his life and even his enemy at times but he was my person,” she said.
“He was my support system in many ways but he is gone now and we will have to fill the emptiness of no longer having our person, our provider, our protector.”
She expressed that her children’s lives have been “destroyed” and their home “torn apart” by Moussa’s actions.
At around 3am on December 28 last year, Mr Clarke found himself in a heated argument and confrontation with another man who brandished a knife, prompting Mr Clarke to arm himself with bottles, the court heard.
After the altercation ended, Mr Clarke flagged down a police car and reported the knife.
Later, Mr Clarke and his girlfriend bumped into Moussa and his group of mates.
“There was friendly chit chat within the group,” judge Karu informed the defendant.
“Ricardo Clarke turned the baseball hat that you were wearing backwards and you did not like that. Your evidence was that he did not have your permission to do that.
“When he said he was from Chile you mocked him about not being able to speak Spanish.
“The atmosphere between you and Ricardo Clarke changed and became hostile.”
Moussa landed a punch on Mr Clarke, who retaliated by hitting him on the head with a bottle.
The confrontation ceased only to reignite after Moussa “went looking” for Mr Clarke, resulting in the pair chasing each other around and hurling bottles.
That skirmish also ended, with the two parting ways, before Moussa returned to Linacre Road to search for lost house keys which he told his trial he found.
“Instead of leaving and returning home you walked into Linacre Road… intent upon confronting Ricardo Clarke and attacking him with your knife,” the judge stated.
Afterwards, Moussa fled the scene, returning to the police cordon at 7am to inquire whether someone had died, before dialling 999 later that evening and telling officers he wanted to turn himself in.
The call was made from a phone box miles away from the scene, leading to the defendant’s arrest.
Emergency services were summoned at the time of the incident and medics performed open heart surgery on Mr Clarke in the ambulance.
He was pronounced dead at 5.29am before reaching hospital, with the fatal wound described as a thrusting wound to the left side of his chest which pierced his heart to a depth of at least 6.5cm.
Moussa has previous convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of bladed articles in public and possession of drugs.
Mark Gatley KC, defending, said his client “was not looking for trouble” on the night of the incident and that Mr Clarke had gotten into several confrontations that evening.
The judge accepted that Moussa did not intend to kill Mr Clarke and that the murder was not premeditated or planned.
She handed him a concurrent sentence of 12 months in prison for possessing a knife.
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