Two Men Sentenced for Murder

Two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.

Michael Henry (39) and 35-year-old Mark Anthony Brown were given a minimum of 30 years at the Old Bailey for the murder of Sunny Eze on 4 March 2009.

Both men were charged with the murder and Brown was also found guilty of possessing a gun.

At 10pm on 4 March 2009 police were called by paramedics to a ground floor flat at Vyvyan House, Campbell Close, SE18.

Officers found that the door had been forced open and a man was slumped against the fridge in the kitchen. The man had received a number of injuries to the upper body and head.

He was 33-year-old Sunny Eze, a Nigerian National who had been in the country for about a year. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination gave cause of death as multiple stab wounds. Sunny had been stabbed three times in the upper back and neck.

Sunny Eze had allowed the defendants into his flat to negotiate a drug deal. At some point Henry disappeared to the toilet and then reappeared with a gun intending to commit robbery.

It is believed that Eze tried to get the gun from Brown and was stabbed in the back by Henry, resulting in his death.

By the time the men left the flat it is likely that Eze had died from his injuries.

A key witness, who gave evidence relating to the events in the flat, was a crucial component in the case against the defendants.

Evidence included a mobile phone left behind at the scene, belonging to Henry. Police found the phone lying on the floor, between Sunny's legs, smashed and broken in the scuffle leading to his death.

Both defendants continually counter accused each other of the murder throughout the trial. They were found guilty of the charges at the Old Bailey.

Detective Sergeant Steve Keogh from Homicide and Serious Crime Command said: "Despite the circumstances of this crime, Sunny Eze died in a brutal and violent attack at the hands of these men. We have been committed to bringing these men to justice throughout this case and we are grateful to the witnesses that came forward despite being fearful of the consequences."

(LB)