Deptford murder: Two jailed for killing drill rapper Crosslon Davis

Jedaiah Param (left) and Elijah Morgan (right) were both found guilty of murder

Two "heartless" killers have each been jailed for at least 28 years for hacking a rapper to death.

Crosslon Davis, 20, known as Bis, suffered at least nine wounds to his head, back and chest when he was set upon by four youths armed with knives.

Most of the attack in Deptford, south-east London, early on 6 December, 2019, was caught on CCTV.

Elijah Morgan, 20, and Jedaiah Param, 21, were both found guilty of murder following a trial at the Old Bailey.

Mr Davis had been a "highly regarded" drill artist and member of the Harlem Spartan collective based in Kennington, south London, the court heard.

The defendants were on licence at the time of the killing, having both been convicted of previous knife-related offences.

On Monday, the pair were each jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years.

Judge Angela Rafferty QC said it was a "heartless and merciless crime" involving the "savage murder" of a defenceless man.

"It is clear he had been shown no mercy whatsoever and he died in the street despite extensive efforts of emergency services to save his life."

The judge said Param and Morgan both had "appalling" records for violence and possession of weapons, which was a "very significant" aggravating factor.

'Brutally murdered my baby'

The victim's mother, Vivienne Davis, paid tribute to her son, who had been rapping since the age of two and was about to start university.

The attack on Crosslon Davis - known as Bis - was caught on CCTV

"He was intelligent and had the whole world in front of him, such a bright future cruelly cut short," she said.

On his killers, she added: "These cowards pleading not guilty and causing us to have to go through this horrifically detailed trial on how they brutally and callously murdered my baby, refusing to acknowledge guilt or responsibility for their heinous crime, speaks for itself.

"They made me watch my son being killed around 15 times on the CCTV footage."

On 5 December, Mr Davis had filmed a music video in Kennington and Cambridge, accompanied by friends.

On the journey back to London, he appeared to become "angry" with someone on the phone.

The court heard he had got the impression the caller was being "disrespectful" about Latz, real name Latwaan Griffiths, a fellow Harlem Spartan who had been stabbed to death in July 2018.

The group decided to meet the caller in the Deptford Creek area at around 01:15 GMT.

The defendants had just got into a taxi cab when Mr Davis, who was armed with a mallet, opened the rear door and tried to attack Morgan, who was inside.

The occupants got out of the cab, and Mr Davis, who had dropped the mallet, was set upon by the defendants and two other unidentified assailants.

Param, of Norwood, south London, and Morgan, of no fixed address, had each denied murder.