Tony Eastlake: Man jailed for life for murdering flower seller

Tony Eastlake was fatally stabbed in Islington in 2021

A man has been jailed for life for murdering a north London flower seller.

James Peppiatt, who was the son of Tony Eastlake's late girlfriend, got into a street brawl about his mother's suicide, for which he blamed Mr Eastlake.

He fatally stabbed the 55-year-old in the back in Islington in 2021.

The 23-year-old, from Islington, north London, was ordered to serve a minimum prison term of 20 years by an Old Bailey judge.

• Late girlfriend's son found guilty of murder

Mr Eastlake had run a stall for more than 40 years and was known locally as the "Flower Man of Islington".

He was fatally wounded by his killer after the two got into a fight on Ecclesbourne Road on 29 May 2021.

James Peppiatt must serve a minimum term of 20 years

The court heard the pair had argued about Peppiatt's mother who had started a relationship with Mr Eastlake but later took her own life.

According to friends of Mr Eastlake, her death had caused a "rift" in his relationship with Peppiatt, who blamed him for what happened to his mother.

Sentencing Peppiatt, Judge Richard Marks KC described the stabbing as a "senseless and needless death".

The judge said that after an initial street fight Peppiatt chose to pursue Mr Eastlake.

"You were angry. You wanted to continue the argument. You were ready to have another fight," the judge said.

A young Mr Eastlake working at his flower stall

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Eastlake's daughter, Paige Eastlake, said: "Life will never be the same without him.

"He will never walk me down the aisle, he will never get to see my children. We will never do anything together again."

She added that her father "was and will always be the Flower Man of Islington and he has left a legacy that no one can take from him".

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