Trust Gangata: Four jailed for teen murdered over mistaken identity

Trust Gangata, 17, died in hospital in March after being stabbed at a party in Armley

Three men have been jailed for life for murdering a teenage boy in a case of mistaken identity.

Trust Gangata, 17, died following the attack at a house party in the Armley suburb of Leeds in the early hours of 19 March.

A Leeds Crown Court trial heard he was not the intended target and suffered at least 14 stab wounds.

Karl Belinga, 20, Karlson Ogie, 19, and Paul Mbwasse, 19, were unanimously found guilty of murder in November.

At their sentencing hearing earlier, all three were told they would each serve a minimum term of 23 years.

Brandon Paradzai, 20, was cleared of Trust's murder but found guilty of manslaughter. He was given a 16-year sentence, which he will initially serve at a young offenders' institution.

The stabbing took place at a house party on Salisbury Road in Armley

Addressing his son's attackers in court, Trust Gangata Snr described his boy as "innocent in every way".

"'TJ' was not in a gang, he didn't carry a knife, he didn't have any trouble with anyone, he didn't do drugs, he didn't even drink alcohol," the court heard.

He added: "Without him I feel lost and alone."

The court heard Trust was slashed with a sword or machete-type weapon and large knives at the property in Salisbury Road.

The attackers were seeking revenge for an earlier assault on Belinga which Trust was not involved in, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Karl Belinga, Paul Mbwasse and Karlson Ogie were all jailed for life at Leeds Crown Court

Belinga left the party after the assault, prosecutors said, but all four defendants later returned in a car and were wearing face coverings.

A female witness reported being in the kitchen with about 15 others when "three males burst in" and attacked Trust, the trial heard, in an attack lasting about a minute.

Witnesses reported having to climb out of windows during the attack and the hearing was told children as young as 15 had witnessed it.

Shortly before 03:00, 999 calls were made from the property and Trust was taken by ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary.

He could not be resuscitated and was declared dead at about 03:30, the trial previously heard.

During sentencing, Belinga, of Brendon Walk, Bradford, Mbwasse, of Walpole Road, Huddersfield, Ogie, of Bierley House Avenue, Bradford, and Paradzai, of Coleshill Way, Bradford, were all told they "hadn't expressed any genuine remorse".

The court heard Brandon Paradzai drove the others to the scene of the stabbing

Trust was described by his family as "kind and warm-hearted", a keen footballer for Hunslet, and a talented musician who played bass and drums in his church band.

He was an economics and business student at Notre Dame Catholic College in Leeds and hoped to become an entrepreneur, the court heard.

A statement read out in court on behalf of Trust's mother, Anna Gangata, said: "If any good can come out of TJ's death, I would ask that lessons are learnt and no other parent must lose a son or daughter due to knife crime.

"Individuals need to stop arming themselves with weapons which can inflict such damage and devastation - I ask anyone who carries a knife or thinks of carrying a knife to stop and think about TJ."

Det Ch Insp Matt Holdsworth, senior investigating officer, said: "It should be made very clear that Trust was not involved in gangs or criminality in any way and was just an innocent teenage boy who had gone to a party to see friends and enjoy himself on a Saturday night.

"Armed with knives and seeking revenge, those convicted of his murder appear to have worked themselves up into a rage that tragically cost Trust his life and has left his family completely devastated."