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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Barney Davis

Kalabe Legesse: First picture of man stabbed to death ‘minding own business’ in Peckham Rye park

Police have released a picture of the victim of a stabbing in Peckham Rye Park- a week after his deadly ambush.

Kalabe Legesse, 29, was stabbed to death as he was sitting “minding his own business” close to the park’s cafe off Strakers Road on the evening of Friday December 30.

Officers said Tuesday they were hunting for two suspects riding pedal bikes who fled the scene towards Peckham Rye after the “brutal and senseless attack”.

A post-mortem found the cause of his death to be a haemorrhage and a stab wound to the heart. His next-of-kin have been informed.

Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “Kalabe’s family and friends have been left devastated by his death, which occurred after a brutal and senseless attack when he was simply sitting in the park, minding his own business.”

Urging witnesses to come forwards, she added: “My thoughts are with the family of the man who has been killed. We will provide them with every possible support.

“The investigation is in its early stages and as yet no arrests have been made. We are pursuing a number of lines of inquiry as we piece together what happened on Friday evening.

“We are keen to hear from anyone who was in or around the park, particularly in the area near the cafe and playground, at about 8pm.

“We would also like to hear from anyone else with information about this attack. I know it can be daunting to come forward, but the insight you may be able to offer could be crucial in identifying the person or people responsible.”

A candlelight vigil will take place at the spot Mr Kalebe was ambushed at 8.30pm on Friday, January 6 exactly a week on from his death.

Ish Lennox, from the St Antony and St Silas Church, told Southwark News: “There needs to be a response from the community and to mourn this man who lost his life and bring people together to grieve.

“The park is a fantastic and safe space. We need to own this space, to keep it ours. So it’s very sad that there’s been this terrible, violent and senseless act.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or who has information about what happened, is asked to call 101 with the reference 6165/30DEC.

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