Four found guilty of Marcel Addai gang murder

Marcel Addai, 17. Photograph: Metropolitan Police

Four members of a violent Hoxton gang are facing life in prison after being convicted of murdering teenager Marcel Addai in a vicious knife attack.

Marcel Addai, 17, was stabbed 14 times at St John’s Estate, Hoxton, on 4 September last year.

The teenager, a member of the Hoxton Boys gang, had been ruthlessly hunted down by knife-wielding members of the rival Fellows Court gang.

The attackers travelled to the scene in a convoy of cars. Marcel tried to evade capture, but tripped and fell to the ground, where he was kicked, punched and stabbed multiple times.

He bled to death at the scene, just yards from his home at Wenlock House.

Sodiq Adebayo, 23, Momar Faye, 19, Sheku Jalloh, 23 and Rikell Rogers, 23, were all found guilty of the murder at the Old Bailey on 11 May. They will be sentenced on 17 May.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Partridge, of the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “This was a targeted attack that required a level of planning. Those convicted travelled to the estate where Marcel lived with the clear intention of inflicting serious injuries to anyone who was present.

“I want to praise those witnesses who had the courage to stand up and come forward with information in this case, it demonstrates that communities will not accept these violent attacks taking place.

“This senseless violence has taken another young life and left a family devastated. Those convicted are now facing many years in prison.

In a statement, Marcel’s grandfather Matthew thanked the police for their efforts in bringing the killers to justice. He said: “One thing that struck me in court was the evidence given by the first officer on the scene that fateful day.

“He said the crowd who surrounded Marcel whilst he was on the floor dying were anti-police and he had to force his way through them to try and help Marcel. We all need to help the police to try and make our communities safe for us.

“We miss Marcel very much. He was not an angel but there was hope whilst he was alive. The love and the efforts of the family would have seen him through the dark patch he was going through.”