Ex-friend who stabbed Jamel Boyce jailed for life

Jamel Boyce was left blind, paralysed and unable to speak after the attack in 2016 and died of his injuries in 2022

A man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 14 years for murdering his college friend, who died more than six years after he was stabbed.

Jamel Boyce was left blind, paralysed and unable to speak after he was attacked on Clapham High Street in south London in 2016.

Tyrese Osei-Kofi was detained for 10 years in 2018 for wounding Mr Boyce with intent, but the Met Police launched a murder investigation after Mr Boyce died from his injuries in a care home in 2022 and in November Osei-Kofi pleaded guilty to murder.

At the Old Bailey on Friday Mr Boyce's father Patrick Boyce said in a statement that he hoped the defendant would find "somewhere in his heart, some remorse".

The court heard Osei-Kofi's attack on his 17-year-old friend on 14 October 2016 had followed a "minor disagreement" and during the attack Mr Boyce was seen being pinned up against a wall by Osei-Kofi.

Osei-Kofi had then stabbed him in the chest and leg, shouted for a "chiv" and made remarks such as "Do you want me to do it?", and "Do you know who I am?".

Jamel suffered a cardiac arrest causing brain damage and a post-mortem examination found the cause of his death was a penetrating injury to the chest, the court was previously told.

'Shy, humble boy'

Jamel's parents gave emotional addresses to the court on Friday, both of them detailing the "agony" of waiting eight years to hear Osei-Kofi admit he killed their son.

Looking towards where the defendant was sat, Mr Boyce's father Patrick Boyce told the court in his statement: "Having to wait all these years for the truth to be revealed, the agony, the pain, the doubts that pass through my mind cannot be explained.

"I hope in time he finds, somewhere in his heart, some remorse."

In a tearful victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Boyce's mother Pansy Boyce said: "Jamel was a shy, humble boy who always used to have a smile on his face."

"What was meant to be an ordinary day… turned into a nightmare that we are forced to endure every single day," his mother continued.

"This will ripple through our lives for years to come."

Defence barrister Graham Trembath KC noted the "real sadness" of the attack "was that they were, it appears at times, good friends".

The court heard that Osei-Kofi also wrote in a letter to the judge that he and Jamel were "good friends" and said Jamel had been to his house, his mother had cooked for him and they had spent a lot of time "chilling together".

The court heard Mr Boyce was known by the nickname Smiley at college, and when sentencing Osei-Kofi, Judge Lynn Tayton KC said Mr Boyce "was clearly an enthusiastic and likeable young man".

She added: "The sentence I impose in no sense is a measure of Jamel's life."

The judge continued by saying Osei-Kofi had shown remorse, but she also noted he showed "a continued lack of understanding of the danger of carrying knives".

The 2,354 days Osei-Kofi has served in prison already will be deducted from his overall sentence.

Additional reporting by PA Media.