Teenager is third convicted after fatal stabbing in Brent

Tjani Williams-Campbell, of Neasden, was convicted under joint enterprise laws at the Old Bailey on December 11 for manslaughter in relation to the killing of Meshach Williams in April 2019.

At about 9pm on April 23 that year, Meshach was walking with a friend along Harlesden High Street when a VW Passat and a Renault Clio drove past in convoy.

The cars U-turned and someone got out to launch a targeted attack, during which Meshach was stabbed.

The vehicles waited for the attack to finish and took the perpetrator away, striking Meshach's friend in the process.

While his friend's injuries were not life-threatening, Meshach collapsed in a bookmakers shortly afterwards.

He was taken to hospital by the London Ambulance Service, where he died at 2.45am on April 24 from a stab wound.

Meshach Williams was murdered in Brent (Image: Met Police)

The motive is thought to be linked to an earlier dispute.

One of the cars was set alight in Gladstone Park in the early hours after the attack, but three suspects were identified when CCTV and mobile phones connected them to the scene.

Dominic Calder, now 20, of Redmead Road in Hayes, Middlesex, and Mikel Mulqueen, now 20, of Marshall Street in Harlesden were convicted of the murder after a trial in November 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 20 years at the Old Bailey on January 31.

READ MORE: Two teenagers jailed for minimum 20 years for ‘senseless’ murder of Harlesden man

A third man was acquitted.

Williams-Campbell and another 17-year-old were arrested in September and December 2019, answering no comment during police interviews.

While the Met’s Specialist Crime Command did not establish who delivered the fatal attack, Williams-Campbell was convicted under joint enterprise for being part of the plan.

Williams-Campbell was just 16 years old at the time of the incident, and he is due to be sentenced on January 22 at the Old Bailey.

The 17-year-old boy was found not guilty at the trial.

Meshach’s mother, Ruth, said: “Losing my son Meshach is a pain that is indescribable. Heartbroken is an understatement, sad is an understatement, words cannot describe the degree of pain that we are enduring every day.

"The lingering question is why? Why did this happen to him? Why would anyone try to hurt us to this degree?

"Meshach was a son, brother, nephew, uncle, grandson, cousin and friend whose personality was highly infectious.

“My life was unexpectedly turned upside down on April 24, 2019, when I was informed that my eldest child and only son, whom I doted on completely, was gone forever. I became a grandmother and also lost a son in that same week.

"A mother’s worst nightmare, news a mother should never have to hear because we all know that a parent should never have to bury their child. This cold and brutal murder of Meshach, that we lovingly refer to as Mesh, has left our whole family in a place of no recovery.”

Det Sgt Devan Taylor, of the Specialist Crime Command, offered his sincere condolences to Meshach’s family: "They acted with so much dignity through the trial and while nothing will bring Meshach back, I hope there is some small solace in the fact that those responsible for his death have now been held to account.”

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote Operation Rimini.

Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

• Correction: This article originally stated that Tjani Williams-Campbell was convicted for murder under joint enterprise laws. In fact he was convicted of manslaughter. The article was corrected at just after midnight on Wednesday, December 16. The BKTimes would like to apologise for the error.