Man guilty of Godwin Lawson stabbing murder

Godwin Lawson was stabbed in March 2010

A man has been jailed for life, with a minimum 19-year term, for murdering a promising footballer in east London.

Godwin Lawson, 17, from Enfield, north London, was stabbed in March 2010 as he tried to help friends in Stamford Hill.

The Old Bailey heard the teenager - an Oxford United Football and Education Academy student - died at the scene.

Moise Avorgah, 20, of Tottenham, north London, was found guilty of murder but cleared of two counts of attempted murder in relation to the attack.

Jurors heard Godwin had gone to help his childhood friends, brothers Daniel and Julian Borja, when they were set upon by Avorgah.

Stabbed in chest

He was part of a group of men who approached the victim, wearing a balaclava and holding a knife.

The court heard one of the Borja brothers was stabbed twice and the other four times when they were attacked "suddenly and without warning".

As Godwin went to help there were cries of "wet him, wet him", slang for "stab him".

He was stabbed once in the chest and staggered towards parked cars before collapsing.

Avorgah was cleared of the attempted murders of the Borja brothers but found guilty of the wounding with intent of both.

Jurors could not agree on murder charges against Daniel Riley, 22, of, Holloway, north London, Matthew Lanihun, 21, of Finsbury Park, north London, and Koffi Osimeh, 20, also of Finsbury Park.

'Natural flair'

All three were cleared of the attempted murders of the Borja brothers but the jury could not decide about the alternative wounding with intent charges.

Judge Gerald Gordon told Avorgah: "It is as a result of your acts that he [Godwin], aged 17, has lost his life, a tragedy inevitably causing devastation to the lives of his family."

The victim's father, Calvin Lawson, 42, a tailor's cutter, called the killing "senseless".

He said: "If he wasn't there trying to help his friends, this would never have happened."

Mr Lawson said of his son's footballing abilities: "He would have gone far. You could see his natural flair."

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson wrote to Godwin's parents to offer his sympathies following the death.

The teenager had dreamed of playing for the club.