A man has been jailed for life for the murder of Riches Obi in Elephant and Castle.
Jurick Croes, 38, repeatedly stabbed Riches Obi, 25, at a property on Harper Road, in November 2020.
Two others, Raichell Felomina, 40, of no fixed address, and Suvenca Martis, 35, of Sydenham Hill, were jailed for a total nineteen years for false imprisonment.
Police said they would “never fully understand” why Obi was attacked but suspected his mother and the three defendants were involved in a money-making scam.
Police arrived at the address finding the door was partially open, on November 17, 2020.
They found Riches lying on the floor suffering stab and slash wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene despite paramedics’ best efforts.
An officer called out to see if anyone else was in the property and a woman replied: “I’m here.”
Officers found her in a bedroom, bound with cable ties and with a scarf around her neck that looked like it had been used as a gag.
On searching the property, officers found a bag of cable ties, identical to those used to bind the woman.
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The ties contained a price tag to a nearby hardware store. Officers obtained CCTV footage showing Suvenca Martis buying them.
Detectives arrested Martis later that month and found communications linking her to Felomina and Croes.
Messages included ferry times showing the pair arriving from Holland before fleeing on the same boat on the night of the murder.
DNA matching Felomina and Croes was found on two knives, and other objects, in the Harper Road flat. A hire car used by Martis also had Croes’s blood inside.
Detectives tracked Felomina to Holland and he was arrested and extradited to the UK in November 2021.
Croes, 38, fled to Colombia following the murder but was extradited to the UK.
Jurick Croes, of no fixed address, appeared at the Old Bailey Friday, 12 July where he was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, less time served [877 days] for murder, and nine years for false imprisonment – to be served concurrently.
Raichell Felomina was sentenced at the same hearing to seven years and six months for false imprisonment. She will be eligible for release after five years and four months and liable for deportation on release.
Suvenca Martis was sentenced to six years and six months for false imprisonment and five years for perverting the course of justice which totals 11 years and six months minus three years and four months served on remand. She will also be liable for deportation on release.
Detective Chief Inspector Matt Webb said: “We will never fully understand why Riches Obi was attacked and killed in his own home in such a brutal way, but it is thought that the three suspects were involved in some way in a money making scam with the woman they targeted.
“We don’t know if he attempted to intervene, but we do know he was subjected to a sustained assault that ultimately ended his life.
“The identification and arrest of Martis was the result of complex enquiries and forensics. Her arrest led us to identify Felomina and Croesh who attempted to avoid capture by fleeing the country.
“This case clearly demonstrates that international borders do not stop UK Law Enforcement from reaching out to capture criminals. We utilsed every international co-operation tool available to us in order to bring them back to the UK to face the consequences of their actions.
“My thoughts today are with Riches’ family. They have waited many years to see justice done and it is my sincere wish that they may now find a way to move forward and cherish their memories of Riches without the spectre of this despicable crime hanging over them.”
