Gang Who Stabbed Music Industry Boss, 32, To Death Face Jail

Emmanuel Odunlami

A gang of thieves who stabbed a music industry executive to death for a '£125,000' fake Patek Philippe watch, are set to be jailed

Emmanuel Odunlami, a music industry executive, was killed in the UK over a phony Patek watch, and four men are facing jail time for it.

The Daily Mail reports that four men could go to jail for stabbing a music industry boss to death over a '£125,000' Patek Philippe watch that was most likely a fake.

Early on May 2, 2022, Emmanuel Odunlami, 32, was killed while attending an event at the Haz restaurant near St. Paul's Cathedral in the City of London to celebrate his birthday.

The report claims that while working at the event, security guard Kavindu Hettarachchi, 30, noticed that Mr. Odunlami was wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch, which, if authentic, could be worth up to £300,000. She then recorded him wearing it.

Then, after sending pictures to his associates Jordell Menzies, 27, Quincy Ffrench, and Louis Vandrose, 28, who drove over armed with knives to rob him outside the restaurant, Hettarachchi gave them the tip.

“The grim and tragic irony of all this is that there is a good reason to think that the Patek Philippe watch wasn't even genuine,” prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said to the jurors. The defendant killed Emmanuel Odunlami for a fake watch, although he was obviously unaware of this at the time.

Mr. Odunlami, a manager of musicians in the music business, attempted to flee, but Menzies pursued him and used a flick knife to stab him in the chest. Antonios Kfoury, 22, a security guard as well, attempted to cover up his friends' criminal activity by telling lies to the authorities.

Menzies acknowledged both robbery and manslaughter, characterizing the victim as a "simple" civilian target for a heist. Although he acknowledged arming himself with the flick-knife, he claimed he had no intention of using it. An Old Bailey jury found Menzies guilty of murder today following a retrial, despite his denials.

The mother of Mr. Odunlami sobbed and praised God. Thank you so much for helping me get justice for my son. Vandrose and Ffrench had both acknowledged robbing people. During the first trial earlier this year, they were found guilty of manslaughter but cleared of murder charges. Hettarachchi had acknowledged larceny. Despite his denials, he was found guilty of robbery and manslaughter.

Ffrench, Menzies, and Vandrose leaped from a Mercedes that had been circling the area after Mr. Odunlami and his friend David Manuel left the restaurant on Foster Lane at 11:15 p.m. to walk to his car in Gresham Street. Jurors heard how Odunlami was on the ground, defenseless, when all three defendants kicked him. Ffrench leaned down to grab Mr. Odunlami's watch during the attack, and he was heard to say, “got it.”

The victim suffered a fatal chest stab wound before the defendants fled. Menzies' DNA was detected in the flick knife that was used to murder Mr. Odunlami, which was discovered close to the scene of the attack.

The murderers then drove to Bloomsbury, where they got dressed and said goodbye to each other. The prosecution presented the following case to the jury: “On May 1, 2022, Emmanuel Odunlami, a young man, attended a classy party at a restaurant called Haz that is 500 meters away from this building.”

The man's friends were tasked with robbing the target of his watch after he sent them a picture of him sporting it. A group of bandits arrived at the eatery in a white Mercedes. Jordell Menzies, the defendant, belonged to that group of robbers. He'd taken a knife to self-defense. As the first robber to arrive at Mr. Odunlami's location, he stabbed him in the chest. The victim's heart was pierced by the knife.

The stabbing wound worked as intended. Mr. Oduniami collapsed to the ground. Though not before giving him a good kick on the floor for good measure, Mr. Menzies and his cronies managed to take the watch off his wrist and flee. Once they had achieved their goal, they fled, leaving Mr. Odunlami to perish on the street and hurried back to the car.

Menzies of High Wycombe, Vandrose of Islington, and Ffrench of Tottenham all acknowledged taking Mr. Odunlami's wristwatch, but they all denied killing him. Menzies denied murder but acknowledged manslaughter and robbery. Despite their denials, French, Vandrose, and Hettiarachchi were found guilty of manslaughter.

Kfoury, from Ealing in west London, refuted the charge of perverting justice, but he was found guilty nonetheless. Judge Patrick Field KC remanded Menzies in custody to await his sentencing after Menzies' conviction.