A MAN who sparked an international manhunt when he fled the UK after murdering a Croydon DJ has been sentenced to life in prison.

Jeffrey Okafor, 24, fled to Nigeria for five years after stabbing Norbury student Carl Beatson-Asiedu in a street attack in 2009.


He was found guilty of murdering Carl - a DJ known as Charmz - and sentenced to serve a minimum of 17 years in prison last Friday following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court.

Carl, a student at De Montfort University, had performed a DJ set at the Club Life nightclub in Goding Street, Kennington on August 1.

Afterward he and his friends were walking along Goding Street to their car when they were approached by a group of men.

Jurors were told there had been a minor dispute between the groups in the past.

On this occasion an argument broke out between one of the men and one of Carl's friends. During the altercation Carl became separated from his group and was fatally stabbed by Okafor.

He collapsed in the street and was found lying in the road by other friends who were driving past. They placed him in their car and drove in the direction of a hospital.

Police later came across the car and discovered Carl in the back. London Ambulance Service and the air ambulance were called but, despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Within an hour Okafor, of no fixed address, called his girlfriend and told her he had been involved in the attack, stating "there had been a madness".

He later told her he had stabbed "Charmz" in the stomach. He gave her a pair of gloves he had worn that evening and asked her to look after them. Days later he also asked her to dispose of his distinctive T-shirt. When police traced the girl she gave them the gloves and they were found to have Carl's DNA on them.

Detectives went to Okafor's home in Dulwich on August 13, 2009, but he escaped out of a back window and into a neighbour's garden, returning when police had left.

Okafor then went to the bank and withdrew all his money before travelling to Barking where he checked into a hotel for three days.

On August 17 he was caught on CCTV with his brother Junior at Heathrow Airport. They swapped clothing and Jeffrey left the UK on a flight to Lagos, Nigeria, using Junior's passport.

There he began a new life but, in the lead up to the fifth anniversary of Carl's murder, police announced of £10,000 reward in an attempt to trace him.

This led to new leads and, with the help of Nigerian authorities and the British High Commission, Okafor was arrested in Warri, Delta State, by Nigerian police officers on September 23, 2014.

During his five years on the run, officers discovered he led a relatively comfortable life, studying at university and joining the National Youth Service Corps.

He was extradited back to the UK on November 6, 2014 where he was arrested and charged with murder.

Detective Inspector Alison Hepworth said: "In the five years Jeffrey Okafor was on the run he was living a life that Carl should be living but he was never afforded the opportunity to finish university.

"Carl's death has had a profound effect on his family and they have waited a very long time to see justice served. I can only commend them for their steadfastness and patience and I hope that seeing their son's killer finally behind bars brings some form of comfort to them."

A talented young man with so much to live for

CARL Beatson-Asiedu was an ambitious and talented young man whose death "created an enormous void" in his family's life, his father has said.

In a victim impact statement, John Beatson-Asiedu, said his son was a precocious musician and sportsman, who had completed a BTEC in media studies before securing a place at De Montfort University in Leicester to study media production.

He formed a DJ group called Kid 'n' Play and performed under the stage name 'Charmz', a moniker he acquired, his father said, "because of his charming, joyful and friendly nature".

He said: "Carl was a very ambitious individual who made every effort to be the best at all he did. He used the phrase 'I came, I saw, I conquered' whenever he successfully achieved a goal he had set for himself.

"Carl's tragic and untimely death on 1 August 2009 has created an enormous void in all our lives and is an unbelievable loss to his family, friends, loved ones and fans who followed his music career and his love for humanity.

"Carl was precious, loving, charming and was always smiling. After Carl's death we received letters from all the organisations he worked with, the university and college he attended and over 10,000 people who joined a tribute group on the social networking site Facebook, there were hundreds of messages that showed Carl was truly loved and admired; he touched so many lives in such a short life time."

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