A MAN has been convicted of killing another man in a violent and aggressive Boxing Day attack.
Jurejs Vankovs has been found guilty of the manslaughter of 49-year-old Michael Murphy following a trial at Wood Green Crown Court which concluded yesterday (July 17).
The court heard that Mr Murphy died after an argument between himself and 39-year-old Vankovs escalated.
The pair, who were known to each other, got into an altercation at around 3am on December 26, 2023 in in Cranwood Street, east London.
Jurejs Vankovs has been convicted of manslaughterCCTV footage showed Vankovs, of no fixed abode, pursuing Mr Murphy, who fell to the ground.
As he attempted to defend himself by raising his leg, Vankovs was seen to make a stabbing motion towards him.
He stabbed him in the leg, which damaged an artery, and walked away from the scene.
Members of the public tried to help before paramedics arrived but despite all of their efforts, Mr Murphy died at the scene.
Vankovs, who lived a transient lifestyle around the Hackney area, went to ground and specialist officers launched a manhunt to find him.
He was located and arrested on New Year’s Day (January 1, 2024) and charged with Mr Murphy’s murder.
Michael Murphy was fatally stabbed in the leg“Michael’s life was taken away in a matter of seconds as a result of completely unnecessary violence by Jurejs Vankovs,” the Met Police’s Detective Chief Inspector Kelly Allen said today.
“Whatever the trigger was for this fatal attack, the level of aggression used by Vankovs was completely disproportionate to the threat he faced,” they added.
“With Michael lying defenceless on the ground, Vankovs had a choice of how to conclude their altercation - he chose to stab him, causing Michael an injury that he could not survive.
“This choice has left Michael’s family, and those who knew him, completely devastated and he must now face up to the consequences of his actions.”
Vankovs will be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on Tuesday, October 1.
