Wembley stabbing: Man killed at Halloween party, court told

Givani Espuet was chased and attacked by a group of men

An unarmed 21-year-old man died after being repeatedly stabbed in a "furious row" at a Halloween party in north-west London, a court has heard.

Givani Espuet was chased and attacked by a group of men in the early hours of 30 October last year outside the Aura Lounge nightclub in Wembley.

He had been stabbed 10 times and one wound had penetrated his chest through to his heart.

Six men, all from north London, are on trial for murder at the Old Bailey.

Kadeem Hibbert, 30; Theo Simon, 34; Bruce Hutchinson, 30; Andre Brown-Watson, 37; Sahid Kpaka, 28 and Courtney Forrester, 26, are accused of acting together to cause Mr Espuet serious harm and to kill him.

A fight broke out in the Aura Lounge before Mr Espuet was chased and killed

Opening the case for the prosecution, Tony Badenoch KC said: "They were fighting with him, chasing him, isolating him between parked cars as he ran for safety, hurting him and killing him.

"All of them together, no doubt buoyed by each other's presence, and the availability of knives, as he was separated, singled out, and killed."

The jury heard that Mr Espuet had gone out to the Aura Lounge bar on Harrow Road with two friends as the club was running a Halloween event.

One of the defendants - Kadeem Hibbert - was also celebrating his birthday there and had arrived several hours earlier.

After a time there was a dispute between the two groups which "erupted" into a "furious row" and spilled into the street outside, the trial heard.

The jury was shown CCTV footage which the prosecution claimed showed Mr Hibbert punching Mr Espuet and lunging at his chest with a knife.

Mr Simon could be seen on CCTV removing a knife from the waistband of his trousers before appearing to stab towards Mr Espuet.

"It was them, both of them, that produced knives outside the venue," said Mr Badenoch.

"It was also them, both of them, that were part of the group that pursued Givani as he sought to escape.

"It will be a feature along the way of this trial to ascertain why it was each of them needed a knife to celebrate a birthday."

Mr Espuet was unarmed at all times, the court heard.

Despite urgent treatment from a passing London Ambulance crew Givani Espuet died from his injuries.

In addition to the murder charge, Kadeem Hibbert, Theo Simon, Bruce Hutchinson and Andre Brown-Watson deny violent disorder.

Sahid Kpaka and Courtney Forrester have admitted charges of violent disorder.

The trial continues.

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