Martin Thomas murder: 16-year-old guilty of murder and companions guilty of manslaughter

Usher Ricardo Sawyers was found guilty of robbing Mr Thomas of a laptop, iPhone and camera and stabbing him to death in his home.

Manslaughter: Odel Munroe waited outside with the 13-year-old 

Sawyers, of Carlton Drive, Putney, was just 15 when he viciously attacked the “quiet and private” 39-year-old student. 

The teenager, who is 6ft 2in, was on tag for previous offences and in year 11 at school preparing to take his GCSEs when he murdered Mr Thomas.

He told the Old Bailey he poked Mr Thomas in the back with a kitchen knife because he lunged for him and he thought he was a paedophile, but the jury convicted him of murder and robbery.

His companion Odel Munroe-Sobers, 20, of Sudbury House, Wandsworth High Street, was found guilty of manslaughter and robbery.

A 14-year-old boy, from Wandsworth, who was 13 at the time of the incident, was also found guilty of manslaughter and robbery. 

The court heard his mother had pleaded with him to tell the police what he knew.

The callous trio made off with just a laptop, iPhone and video camera, leaving Mr Thomas on the kitchen floor.

Neighbours spotted the youngsters entering Mr Thomas’s house in Huntingfield Road, Roehampton, on April 22, last year. Minutes later they were caught on CCTV fleeing the scene.

Sawyers entered Mr Thomas’s home first, telling the others to wait behind. He stabbed him five times, including four times in his back.

Martin Thomas: The victim was a student at South Thames College 

The stab wound that killed him was to the front of his chest; it was a deep wound that went through his left lung and struck the back of his chest causing major bleeding from which he died very quickly.

The others waited outside until given a signal to enter and steal property.
When police arrived they found Mr Thomas slumped in his kitchen with blood throughout the hallway.

Sawyers left his hat at the scene and police tracked down the three defendants, who were subsequently charged.

Crime scene: A forensic tent outside Mr Thomas's home in Roehampton 

Mr Thomas, who was described by his family as "ambitious" and "humble", was an aspiring car mechanic and had moved to London from Jamaica to make a better life for himself.

Investigating officer Detective Inspector Andrew Rees, of the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “Martin Thomas was the victim of a terrifying and vicious attack in his own home.

“While he knew one of his attackers, such incidents in the home are still incredibly rare and isolated.

“I am very grateful to the local community who helped us to piece together the tragic events leading to Mr Thomas’s death. I hope today’s verdict goes some way to bringing some solace to his family and friends at this very difficult time.”

The three are due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, March 13. 

Sawyers has three previous convictions, which he had pleaded guilty to in youth court in May 2013, when he was 14 years old.

First was for criminal damage and common assault and a third was assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The baby-faced 14-year-old cannot be named due to legal reasons.