Man Jailed Over Croydon Footballer's Death

A 19-year-old man has today been jailed for life for murdering a promising young footballer in an attack over a girl.

Oliver Kingonzila, 19, a Barnet FC footballer who represented England as a youth, was knifed eight times outside a nightclub.

Tristan Burke, 19, of Croydon, south London, admitted killing the teenager, but says he did not intend to kill him.

The Old Bailey heard Burke used a knife hidden in a trainer to stab Mr Kingonzila, also from Croydon.

Judge Martin Stephens told Burke, who at an earlier hearing, pleaded guilty to the killing: "His death has left his family, his community and his friends devastated and bereft. He was full of promise in many ways.

"He is no more, because of the misconceived belief prevalent among so many of today's youth that carrying a knife can in some ways be explained or even justified."

The court heard Mr Kingonzila, who fled to the UK as a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, had been friends with Burke, but they fell out when the victim's brother started to date Burke's ex-girlfriend.

Burke went to the E Bar in Croydon, armed with a small kitchen knife hidden in his trainer on 13 September last year. The jury heard Mr Kingonzila – who had twice been threatened with a knife by Burke - at first walked away, but the accused goaded him by saying: "Come on, do something".

The footballer punched Burke in the face and he responded by stabbing Mr Kingonzila repeatedly, including twice in the face and once, fatally, to a major artery in his neck.

Jeremy Donne QC, prosecuting, said: "The defendant's use of the knife was so ferocious and indiscriminate that he actually stabbed and injured a friend who had tried to separate the two men at the beginning of the altercation.

"It is also quite likely that he cut himself."

Burke was arrested by police after a trail of blood, which matched his DNA, led police to storm a drain where the knife was discovered.

CCTV footage also showed him fleeing the scene.

Mr Kingonzila, described by his friends as a "gentle giant", was a college business student, who also captained the under-19 Barnet FC football team, as well as representing England Colleges on a tour of Italy months before his death.

(JM/BMcC)