Two men who murdered a 16-year-old boy in a “brutal” knife attack just yards from his home in north London have been jailed for life.
Bernard Carroll, 20, and Josiah Semper, 19, set upon victim Taye Faik as he walked his dog close to his home in Edmonton’s Kendal Gardens at around 11.30pm on October 1 last year.
The balaclava-wearing killers sped away from the scene as the fatally wounded Taye made it back to his home on the quiet cul-de-sac and collapsed in the hallway. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard how the pair jumped out of a waiting car to attack Taye, with Semper inflicting the fatal wound with a flick knife.
It heard how Carroll, who drove the car to Kendal Gardens knowing Semper was armed, was in no doubt that significant violence was to take place.
Detectives tracked the getaway car on CCTV, discovering it abandoned in a nearby car park. It had fake registration plates and had been stolen a couple of weeks earlier.
Tracking down the occupants of the car, murder detectives arrested Carroll on November 6 after finding him at an address in Edmonton.
But the cowardly killer refused to answer any questions about the pair’s attack on Taye.
Semper, who fled to Antigua shortly after the murder, was arrested when he returned to the UK on November 17.
He also refused to answer questions about the murder.
Met Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke described the attack as “shocking and brutal” and said there was evidence of “a significant degree of planning involved.”
“Taye’s family have had to endure the trauma of losing him and then hearing evidence of the attack throughout the trial process,” she said.
“While nothing can be done to ease their pain, I hope that the fact Carroll and Semper have been held to account for their part in Taye’s murder brings them a small degree of comfort.
"This conviction and the subsequent sentence should demonstrate the serious consequences and loss of life that is associated with carrying a knife.
“The sentencing today should act as a deterrent to anyone else in possession of such dangerous weapons."
Both Carroll, of Church Street, Enfield and Semper, of Cromie Close, Enfield, were sentenced to life to serve a minimum of 22 years.
