A young musician was murdered by a ‘fearsome weapon’ in broad daylight in a crowded city centre street.
Keany Kissingou-Mabiala was walking down Milton Street in Nottingham city centre talking to his bank on the phone when he was stabbed twice in the chest.
Keany was an aspiring musician who had some notoriety in the Nottingham music scene, with songs he had released on YouTube having tens of thousands of plays.
Footage released by Nottinghamshire Police today shows the moments building up to when 19-year-old Mazin Abdelmonim stabbed 20-year-old Keany with a sword.
Keany took several steps before falling to the ground outside Victoria Centre. Emergency services attempted to save his life but he was pronounced dead at the scene on Monday 12 October 2020.
Davarnnay Parris, 18, was also present at the attack and had previously pleaded guilty to possession a knife and possession of cannabis in connection with the incident. Parris tried to flee in a taxi but drivers refused him entry, so he ran to a nearby bus. The footage released by police shows how an officer arrested Parris just moments after the call had been made to police.
Abdelmonim fled the area but his phone was recovered from the scene. Footage released today shows his arrest at a flat in Radford following evidence recovered on his mobile.
Both men had pleaded not guilty to murder in connection with the incident but following CCTV and eyewitness evidence, Abdelmonim was found guilty of murder by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court today (Friday 4 June 2021). Parris was found not guilty and given a conditional discharge for two years.
Abdelmonim was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years without parole.
Detective Inspector Steve Wragg led the investigation, he said: “While today is a success in terms of the investigation, there is nothing to celebrate.
“Keany had his whole life ahead of him. He had a promising music career, he had dreams and aspirations. They were taken away from him when Abdelmonim attacked him out of the blue using a truly fearsome weapon.
“He was minding his own business walking through a busy city centre street in the middle of the day. It’s truly tragic that this happened and a man is going to pay the price for his reckless stupidity.
“One person has lost his life and another has thrown his away in this incident. The impact this will have on each of their families is unimaginable.
“Our thoughts are with Keany’s family who have been supported by specially trained officers throughout this investigation.
“The one thing to take away from this is to send a clear message to people who carry knives – if you carry one, you are likely to use it and this is the result. If you use it, we will arrest you and you will go to prison, it is as simple as that.
“If you are worried about a friend or family member who may be carrying a knife, please speak to them and help them understand just how serious the consequences are.”
