The prosecution said that Harry Uzoka, above, was more successful than his rival. Photo / Instagram
The prosecution said that Harry Uzoka, above, was more successful than his rival. Photo / Instagram
A male model was murdered by a jealous rival in a row over a female catwalk star, a court heard.
Harry Uzoka, 25, died on the pavement outside his home in Shepherd's Bush, west London, after he was stabbed in the heart, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The Old Bailey was told that he called George Koh, 24, "a fake" on Instagram and arranged a fight after finding out Koh had claimed to have had sex with Uzoka's model girlfriend, Ruby Campbell.
The alleged victim, who was known as "H", arrived for the confrontation on January 11 after recruiting his flatmate, Adrian Harper. The jury heard that both men were armed with dumbbell bars.
Prosecutor Richard Horwell QC said Koh, along with Merse Dikanda and Jonathan Okigbo, both 24, took at least three knives, including a machete.
"Uzoka and Harper were outnumbered and bars stand little chance against knives," he said.
"It is the Crown's case that Koh stabbed Uzoka and that Okigbo and Dikanda went with Koh to support and assist him in the intentional infliction of serious harm.
"Their combined desire to overwhelm and cause serious injury is obvious from their combined actions that afternoon. They acted like a team because that is precisely what they were."
Koh and Okigbo, who are both from Camden, north London, deny murder. Dikanda, of no fixed address, denies murder, possessing a machete on January 11 and possessing a knife on January 25.
Horwell told jurors that Uzoka was "a well-known and successful model with a very bright future ahead of him". He said his celebrity status was "relevant because it is that very part of his life that brought him into contact with the first defendant, George Koh".
"Koh was also a model but not as successful as Uzoka," he added.
The court heard that Uzoka, who worked with London's Premier model agency, was annoyed by the less successful Koh, who some said looked like him, because he tried to copy him and make contact with his friends.
Harry Uzoka. Photo / Instagram
Their relationship deteriorated after Paris-based model Annecetta Lafon, who had previously been in contact with both men on Instagram, arrived in London in late December last year, the jury was told.
The prosecutor said Lafon was surprised to discovered that Koh "had something of an obsession" with Uzoka.
He continued: "Koh claimed that he knew Uzoka well and then said that he had sex with Uzoka's girlfriend and that was the reason why they no longer talked.
"Koh then added that Uzoka was a bad man and a liar. And so it seemed that admiration for another model and his success had turned to contempt."
The jury was told a "confrontation" was arranged in Ollgar Road in Shepherd's Bush following a series of phone calls and messages on WhatsApp and Instagram after Lafon told Uzoka of Koh's claims.
Horwell said Uzoka and Harper ran when they were confronted with knives.
The staff of @BritishGQ are appalled and saddened by Harry Uzoka's death and would like his family to know that our thoughts and prayers are with him and his loved ones. https://t.co/eVTPaZpqj8
Harper escaped, but Uzoka collapsed after being stabbed in the heart.
The defendants allegedly took an Addison Lee taxi, booked in Koh's name, to and from the scene and jurors were told he tried to delete his account and asked his mobile phone company to change his number.
He handed himself in to police three days after the stabbing, giving a prepared statement which read: "During the altercation with Harry, he knocked me to the ground. He had a metal pole in his hand and went to strike me.
"I acted in self-defence because I feared that he would kill me or cause me serious injury.
"I had no intention to stab him in the chest. I was on the floor when he fell on to me. I maintain that my actions were reasonable given the circumstances."
But the prosecutor told jurors: "We suggest that prepared statement was a lie in an attempt to support a fabricated defence."
He added: "These three men went to a fight armed with knives. They plainly intended to use them and did so. And as a result Harry Uzoka lost his life."
