A man who stabbed a Kensington Palace gardener to death in a late-night confrontation has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 27 years behind bars.
A fatal night of celebration turns to tragedy
Elyas Moussa, 30, of no fixed address, was convicted of murdering 35-year-old Recorda Davey-Ann Clarke, known as Ricardo to loved ones, following a two-week trial at the Old Bailey. The fatal incident occurred in the early hours of 28 December last year on Linacre Road in Willesden Green, north-west London.
Mr Clarke had been out celebrating his girlfriend's birthday. The court heard that what began as "friendly chit chat" between Mr Clarke's party and a group including Moussa escalated dramatically after Mr Clarke turned Moussa's baseball cap backwards. Moussa took offence, and after mocking Mr Clarke's Chilean heritage, the atmosphere turned hostile.
The confrontation escalates to murder
The altercation involved punches and bottles being thrown before temporarily subsiding. Judge Usha Karu told Moussa that he later returned to Linacre Road, allegedly to look for lost keys, but was instead "intent upon confronting Ricardo Clarke and attacking him with your knife."
After chasing Mr Clarke, Moussa produced a knife and stabbed him once in the chest as Mr Clarke lay on the ground, either from a push or a trip. The judge stated: "He did not really pose any danger to you at that time, quite the opposite, it made him vulnerable to attack by you."
The single thrusting wound, at least 6.5cm deep, pierced Mr Clarke's heart. Despite emergency medics performing open heart surgery in the ambulance, he was pronounced dead at 5.29am before reaching hospital.
A life of promise cut short
In moving victim personal statements read to the court, Mr Clarke's family described a devoted father-of-two who was a cornerstone of their lives. He had secured a coveted gardening apprenticeship at Kensington Palace, beating 500 other applicants, and took immense pride in his work.
Judge Karu paid tribute, saying: "He was part of a close-knit, loving family... He had a good sense of humour, was fun-loving, caring, strong and resilient and always there for those he loved."
Lori-Jane Forrest, the mother of his children, said her family's life had been "destroyed" and their home "torn apart". She described Mr Clarke as her "person", her support system, provider, and protector.
Aftermath and sentencing
Following the attack, Moussa fled but later returned to the police cordon at 7am to ask if someone had died. That evening, he called 999 from a phone box miles away, telling officers he wished to hand himself in, and was subsequently arrested.
While the judge accepted the murder was not premeditated and that Moussa did not intend to kill, she emphasised the gravity of carrying and using a knife. Moussa, who has previous convictions for assault and possessing bladed articles, was also given a concurrent 12-month sentence for possession of a knife.
This case highlights the devastating and permanent consequences of knife violence, leaving a family shattered and a promising life brutally ended.
