Joel Amade 18, was found guilty of the murder of Jason Isaacs by a jury after a trial at the Old Bailey in London. He will be sentenced on Monday, 13 May.
An investigation was launched by the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command after Jason – a talented footballer – was stabbed in a residential cul-de-sac in Northholt in 2017.
Police were called just before 22:30hrs on Saturday, 18 November to Newnham Close and found the 18-year-old suffering from multiple injuries.
He was taken to St Mary’s Hospital, and immediately had surgery. He remained critical for some time before dying at 11.55hrs on Tuesday, 21 November.
During the trial, which began on Monday, 18 March, the court heard how 18-year-old Jason and four of his friends had made their way to the area after deciding to spend their Saturday night at a friend’s house.
They walked to Oldfields Circus in Northolt and bought some drinks, before heading along Orchard Close. As they got past the junction heading towards Girton Road, two mopeds appeared and drove at speed towards the group.
On each moped was a rider and a pillion passenger, who were all masked or wearing helmets and carrying weapons. They stopped the mopeds at Newnham Gardens, jumped off, and began to chase Jason and his friends.
They resumed the chase on their mopeds and Jason became separated. He was pursued into Newnham Close and set upon in what was described as a shocking and sustained knife attack.
The attackers fled the scene on the mopeds and an investigation was launched.
Prior to the arrival of London Ambulance Service, one of Jason’s friends and a resident, whose door Jason had knocked on in distress, attempted first aid. He had collapsed in their front garden but unknown to those who were trying to help him, had been fatally wounded.
A post mortem examination at Uxbridge Mortuary on 24 November 2017, established that Jason had eight knife wounds, possibly caused by two different weapons.
He had been stabbed four times in the back, and it was one of these which proved to be the fatal injury. Jason also had a wounds to his upper right arm, right elbow, right knee and left thigh.
These were consistent with injuries caused by a sword or machete.
Amade was first arrested on Monday, 20 November, 2017 on suspicion of attempted murder and bailed while further enquiries were made. In the wake of Jason’s death and post mortem results, he was arrested again on Thursday, 30 November and charged with murder.
Amade appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 1 December, where he denied murder and was remanded in custody.
Amade – originally from the Harrow area – left his home in Ilford at around 16:45hrs on the day of the attack and used public transport to get to Northolt.
CCTV showed that he was carrying a black motorcycle helmet and had made a telephone call just before he headed over to north west London,
By 12.30am, around two hours after the attack, Amade took a train back to east London and was caught on a CCTV camera at Wembley Park station wearing the same clothes as he had been seen in earlier that day.
Upon his arrest at the Ilford address, these clothes – a puffed jacket and hoody were found – alongside the helmet which also featured a distinctive V shaped logo. This matched that of a moped pillion rider captured on nearby CCTV shortly before the attack.
During the course of the investigation, one of the mopeds used was recovered and forensically examined. Blood was found on one of the body panels. DNA profiled identified Amade as being the likely contributor on a one in a billion basis.
