Joshua White murder: Three men jailed over Hackney stabbing

CCTV footage showed Joshua White checking on the girl before he was stabbed

Three gang members have been jailed for murdering a man who was stabbed "at random" in front of a terrified child.

Joshua White, 29, was found with fatal injuries in Hackney, east London, on 26 April 2019.

Taylar Isaac and David Kerrigan, both 20, were found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey. Theo Momodu, 18, had previously admitted the same charge.

They carried out the attack after a senior gang member told them to get some "notches on your blade".

Isaac and Kerrigan, both from Hackney, were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years.

Momodu, also from Hackney, who was 16 at the time of the offence, was sentenced to life detention with a minimum term of 18 years.

Joshua White was killed by a stab wound to the heart, a post-mortem examination found

During the trial, jurors heard as Mr White fled from the masked attackers, he sent a young girl on roller-skates flying. CCTV footage showed him trying to check on her.

The court was told the defendants, all members of a gang called Stokey16 carried out the attack after Momodu received a text message from a gang leader saying young gang members should "get someone down" or face being "de-recruited".

After Mr White knocked over the young girl as he was being chased, he sought to reassure her before trying to take refuge inside a shop.

Momodu then stabbed Mr White three times in the back with a 2ft-long red-tinted Zombie sword, before Isaac delivered a fatal wound to the chest with a large knife, the Old Bailey was told.

All three men fled the scene in a car as Mr White - who was about to start a job as a train driver - collapsed inside the shop.

Theo Momodu, David Kerrigan and Taylar Isaac (left to right) were handed life sentences for the gang-related murder

Sentencing the men, Judge Philip Katz said: "These were brazen, gang related knife attacks, in broad daylight, and both in the presence of children."

"Those who choose to participate in this kind of savagery on the streets of London must take the consequences."

Samantha Yelland, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "These men were set on serious violence. They did not care who saw. But Joshua White's concern for the young child led to him being cornered by his killers.

"Although nothing can bring Joshua White back, I hope this conviction goes some way in providing comfort to his family and friends. Our thoughts are with them at this time."