Anthony Adekola murder: Three guilty of Marks & Spencer worker's killing

Anthony Adekola was stabbed nine times

Three gang members have been found guilty of murdering a Marks & Spencer shop assistant who was stabbed at random in a postcode war.

Tajaun Subaran, 19, and two 17-year-old boys who cannot be named, killed Anthony Adekola on 5 September.

The 22-year-old was stabbed nine times when just a short walk away from his home in Colindale, north-west London.

The Old Bailey heard it was a "tragic example" of someone simply being in the "wrong place at the wrong time".

Sentencing has been adjourned until 5 November.

Jurors were told the defendants were from Hendon in the NW4 London postcode area while Mr Adekola lived in NW9.

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones QC said the defendants were on a raid into enemy territory - known as a "ride-out".

"When they got to NW9 it didn't matter to them who they stabbed - it was enough to show their NW9 rivals that they could turn up on enemy territory and stab who they liked," he said.

Mr Adekola was popular with both customers and colleagues

Mr Adekola had left the Colindale branch of Marks & Spencer at 21:00 BST. CCTV footage shows him strolling home along Booth Road. By chance, Mr Adekola was present as eight males spilled from two taxis.

There was a brief conversation before Mr Adekola turned and ran.

He was cornered in an alleyway and stabbed in his face, head, neck, arms, back, chest and ankle. Forensic analysis showed the wounds were caused by different knives.

The attackers then got in the waiting taxis and left.

Mr Adekola had an "amazing aura", according to one of the tributes paid to him

Friends, family, colleagues and customers have described their devastation at the death of the "well-mannered and cheerful" young man.

After her son's death, Foluke Adekola said: "I want to say thank you once again to every single person that has supported my family and I through this heinous ordeal.

"I pray that no-one else ever has to go through the heartache of losing a child.

"Rest in eternal peace my son."

Video clips discovered on the gang's mobile phones, complete with drill lyrics about the postcode rivalry, provided the background to the murder.

Three weeks after killing Mr Adekola, one of the 17-year-olds had written "shame I had to ching [stab] that lad" and ended with "chasing opps [the opposition] is fun, I love the thrill when I see an opp boy run".

Further evidence included a face mask found at the murder scene which had DNA evidence linked to one of the 17-year-olds, and a trainer with Mr Adekola's blood on it that was discovered at Subaran's home.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a fourth defendant, Christian Medina, 20, who was discharged.

Det Ch Insp Neil John from the Metropolitan Police said: "This was a mindless and senseless attack on an innocent man who has tragically lost his life in a gratuitous attack simply because he resided in a different postcode."

What is a 'postcode war'?

It is a conflict between gangs over territory, often stoked by videos posted on YouTube and social networking sites.

These videos usually contain taunts and threats to attack rivals, if they were to dare to journey into a rival gang's postcode. The films often include footage of local landmarks as a way to clearly mark out boundaries.

Inter-borough conflicts - Hackney-Tottenham, for example, or Brixton-Peckham - have existed for decades.

The postcode wars saw these scaled down to a single postcode or estate. The idea was simple: if you strayed outside your area, you might be chased, mugged or beaten.

Mr Adekola has been described as "a true gentleman"

A friend of the 22-year-old said his murder "hurt like nothing else".

"You motivated me to do what I loved most in life, you lived a playful life and infected others with your smile and subtle charm."

Another person paying tribute said Mr Adekola had a "beautiful soul" and would tease their 10-year-old daughter about her love for Arsenal.

"He was just so sweet. My daughter described him as her friend. I can't find the words to console her. If there was ever a true meaning for 'full of life', that was him.

"An innocent life lost for absolutely no reason."