Four gangsters are found guilty of brutally murdering NHS worker David Gomoh, 24, as he spoke to his girlfriend on the phone in random attack retold in killer’s chilling cartoon
- David Gomoh, 24, was chased and knifed at least nine times on the phone
- He died days before he was due to attend the funeral for his father, Ken Gomoh
- David Ture, Mohammad Jalloh, Vagnei Colubali and a boy, 17, were all charged
- They had all denied murder but were found guilty and face life in prison
- Cartoon storyboard they drew after killing was key part of the case
Four gang members who stabbed an innocent NHS worker to death after glorifying the kill on a cartoon storyboard are facing life sentences after being convicted of murder.
David Gomoh, 24, was chased and knifed at least nine times as he chatted to his girlfriend on the phone near his home in Canning Town, east London, on April 26 last year.
He was chosen at random by members of the Northside Newham gang to send a message to their Custom House and Beckton rivals. He was not a gang member and a completely innocent victim.
The killers drove to the scene in a stolen silver Dodge Caliber to ambush Mr Gomoh near the NHS Nightingale hospital at the ExCel centre.
Mr Gomoh, who worked at St Bart’s Hospital distributing PPE, managed to get to his feet and stumble the short distance home where he bled to death in front of his horrified family.
He died days before he was due to attend the funeral for his father, Ken Gomoh, who died after contracting coronavirus.
David Gomoh, 24, was chased and knifed at least nine times as he phoned his girlfriend
David’s killers stole a silver Dodge Caliber found abandoned minutes after the stabbing
Drawings from David Ture’s bedroom showing a number of young men carrying out a stabbing
After the killing Ture made a ‘storyboard’ cartoon strip glorifying the murder, the court heard.
Mr Gomoh, a marketing graduate from South Bank University in London, lived with his mother and sister, who also worked for the NHS.
David Ture, 19, Mohammad Jalloh, 19, Vagnei Colubali, 23, and a 17-year-old, denied but were convicted of murder and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm after a six and a half week trial.
The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for 14 hours and 51 minutes before reaching unanimous verdicts on all charges.
Dock officers had to stop the 17-year-old storming from the dock as the verdicts were announced.
He was pushed back into his chair and told to ‘simmer down’ by a burly security guard as relatives of Mr Gomoh sat quietly in the courtroom.
The Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft will sentence the four killers on a date to be fixed but told them: ‘The four of you have been convicted of really serious offences.
‘The sentence will be one of life imprisonment.’
He reminded the defendants that the murder had been described as ‘a brutal attack.’
The scene on Freemasons road in Newham, London, after murder investigation was launched
The cartoon storyboard was described as a ‘frightening depiction of the violence’ in court
Murderers made cartoon storyboard on how they would carry out the killing
Jurors heard a a detailed ‘storyboard cartoon’ depicting Mr Gomoh’s brutal murder was later found at Ture’s home.
‘The evidence is a frightening depiction of the violence that took place in April last year,’ said Mr Glasgow.
‘It could only have been drawn by someone who was present at the attack.
‘You’ll see how four individuals have been identified.
‘Script has been provided by some of the characters.’
Each image illustrated a different stage of the attack beginning with four figures deciding to head to the ‘opp block’ – the south Newham gang’s territory.
Mr Glasgow read out a number of phrases written next to the ‘childish’ drawings.
‘Let’s go opp block.
‘Let’s jump in the ride, K is our driver.
‘Let me razz dis spliff.
‘Let’s hop out on these pagans.’
Clothing can be identified by make and style in the drawing and is similar to that worn by Jalloh, Ture, Colubali and the 17-year-old in CCTV footage from the night of the attack.
In the penultimate image, a drawing of a figure can be seen lying on the ground in what is supposed to be a pool of blood.
‘Where his eyes would be there are Xs,’ Mr Glasgow said.
Mr Gomoh was on the phone to his girlfriend when the killers pulled up next to him in the Dodge, said prosecutor Oliver Glasgow.
She could hear someone ask Mr Gomoh ‘Where are you from?’ and then heard a struggle break out.
CCTV footage showed the moment the car stopped beside Mr Gomoh and he began to run for his life.
‘The Dodge Caliber can be seen to be driving along behind him without its headlights on,’ said Mr Glasgow.
‘The reason for switching them off must have been to enable the car and the three knife-carrying defendants to sneak up on a potential target.
‘This is the moment David Gomoh was confronted by the occupants of the Dodge Caliber.
‘That must have been all it took for David Gomoh to appreciate that he was in very real danger.
‘The chase was clearly on at this point.
‘Despite the number of injuries and their severity, the attack was the work of seconds.’
Mr Gomoh struggled back to his house following the attack and collapsed outside after he was stabbed at least nine times.
‘He was, in effect a dead-man walking,’ Mr Glasgow said.
Paramedics tried to save Mr Gomoh, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The gang had already made one attempt to attack an unidentified man prior to coming across Mr Gomoh but he got away.
‘The consequence of having a number of gangs who operate in a relatively confined area are not difficult to divine,’ said Mr Glasgow.
‘Rivalry, hatred, violence and death have all played their part in the ongoing dispute between these groups.
‘And it was this ongoing feud that ultimately led to the brutal murder of David Gomoh.
‘A young man who had nothing to do with this petty but fatal game of one-upmanship that is played out so often on the streets of London.
‘He had no bad blood with anyone and… was ambitious to make something of himself,’ said Mr Glasgow.
After the attack, the killers attempted to make a getaway in the Dodge Caliber but one of the wheels came off and they had to walk back to the north side of Newham.
Jurors heard a a detailed ‘storyboard cartoon’ depicting Mr Gomoh’s brutal murder was later found at Ture’s home.
Mr Glasgow added: ‘That sequence of drawings – childish though they may be – do not tell a childish story.
‘They went to Freemason’s Road.
‘They found someone they thought was involved, but they did not bother to check who he was.
‘They stabbed him, and they left him in a pool of blood.
‘Whoever drew this was boasting of their gang affiliation and their pride in what they had done.
‘A group of young men who have such low regard for the lives of others that they will attack a stranger in the street simply because they assume he is a rival given the area where he lives.’
Mr Gomoh suffered catastrophic injuries, including severed carotid and brachial arteries and his liver had been cut through.
Some of the wounds were as deep as 12.5cm and sliced into the bone.
The 17-year-old’s DNA was found on sunglasses dropped near to where Mr Gomoh was attacked.
Jalloh’s DNA was found on two earpieces found on the back seat of the Dodge.
Jalloh, of North View, Pinner, north London, Colubali of Kendal Way, Cambridge, Ture, of no fixed address, and the 17-year-old, all denied murder and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.
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