Man jailed for murder of 'talented footballer'

Oguzcan Dereli, 27, was convicted of and sentenced for murdering 20-year-old Abdul-Latif Pouget at the Old Bailey

A man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years after he stabbed to death a talented football player with a machete.

Oguzcan Dereli, 27, was convicted of murdering 20-year-old Abdul-Latif Pouget in Clerkenwell, north London, last year following a trial at the Old Bailey.

Dereli, of Alexander Road, Islington, north London, was told he must serve a minimum of 24 years in prison for the murder and was also sentenced to two years for possession of an offensive weapon, to be served concurrently.

Sentencing him on Tuesday, Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC said: "We shall probably never know why you chose to to get out of your car that night and run over and stab Mr Pouget."

The judge said the offence was aggravated by Dereli's previous convictions and that he had disposed of the weapon after the murder and had sought to evade arrest to frustrate the police investigation.

The court heard that sport and youth workers regarded Abdul-Latif as a "talented and gifted footballer" who was a "role model" to those younger than him and who had a dreamed of becoming a professional player.

In a victim impact statement, Abdul-Latif's mother said his family were "devastated" by his death and that family gatherings now took place at the graveyard.

Kawsar Pouget said: "It feels like every one of us has been stabbed and many of us - if given the chance - would have taken that wound ourselves if it had meant Abs could still be here.

"We would never wish this pain on anyone - it is a wound that cuts deeper than you can every imagine and will take longer than a lifetime to heal."

'20 years of brotherhood'

The victim's brother, Badruddin Pouget, read a statement to the court saying how Dereli had only known Abdul-Latif for a few moments, but he had known his brother for 20 years.

"Twenty years of laughter, 20 years of promise, 20 years of brotherhood and in one act of violence you ended all of that," he said.

Dereli's trial heard that Abdul-Latif had worked as a courier and had been driving his moped in Clerkenwell during the evening of 18 October and had stopped in a side street called Black Hill.

Less than a minute later a blue Ford Focus driven by Dereli had stopped alongside Abdul-Latif's moped.

Dereli had left his car with a two foot machete in his hand and ran straight over to Abdul-Latif, who was still sat on his moped, and stabbed him in the right thigh, the court heard.

The injury severed an artery and Abdul-Latif had collapsed on the pavement with massive blood loss.

Dereli had then driven off leaving his victim fighting for his life.

Prosecutor Danny Robinson KC said the attack had lasted less than 15 seconds from start to finish.

Despite the efforts of the public and paramedics Abdul-Latif died in hospital three days later on 21 October.

Police investigating the murder discovered a phone that Dereli had dropped at the scene and CCTV that showed him stabbing the victim, although the machete was never found.

In his defence Dereli claimed he had wanted to speak to Abdul-Latif about a dispute over money and that he had been acting in self-defence.

In mitigation Dereli's barrister Gudrun Young KC said the defendant had an unhappy childhood and had been drawn into drug dealing.

She said that the defendant had "considerable regret and remorse for his actions and was extremely sorry for taking Mr Pouget's life".