A self-proclaimed “monster” has been found guilty of beating a top chef to death near Notting Hill Carnival.
Omar Wilson, 31, repeatedly punched and kicked Mussie Imnetu during an altercation outside Dr Power restaurant in Queensway, west London, on August 26 last year, before leaving him dying in the street to go clubbing.
Mr Imnetu, 41, was taken to hospital after the attack and died four days later without regaining consciousness.
He was a top chef who had worked under chefs Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing and was visiting London from Dubai where he lived.
Wilson was caught after being captured on CCTV heading to a nightclub immediately after the violent attack - and dropping a pair of sunglasses at the scene.
During his Old Bailey trial, he claimed he acted in self-defence, telling jurors: “I just regret that somebody’s life was taken while I was trying to defend mine.”
But a jury deliberated for 22 hours and 34 minutes to find him guilty of the chef’s murder by a majority of 10 to two on Thursday.
The jury had been shown graphic CCTV footage showing Wilson approaching Mr Imnetu and headbutting him.
About a minute later, Wilson punched Mr Imnetu. the head chef at andat private member’s establishment The Arts Club in Dubai, five times in the head, causing him to fall to the ground.
Wilson continued to punch Mr Imnetu repeatedly while he was on his hands and knees, then kicked him in the head.
Prosecutor Jacob Hallam KC had said: “The defendant had, by that point, struck him to his head more than a dozen times. Mr Imnetu had struck the defendant not once.
“At the end of that altercation, Mr Imnetu was dying on the ground and the defendant left and went clubbing in the Ministry of Sound.”
As nearby police moved to help Mr Imnetu, Wilson walked away having dropped his sunglasses and keys at the scene.
In the aftermath of the attack, Wilson told an associate he “crossed the line”.
In a message, he admitted: “There’s a monster in me, man, and it’s just like sometimes it comes out.
“And I think I’ve messed up now, I’ve messed up, everything’s finished.”
Asked how the carnival was going, he replied: “Can’t lie. I did the hands ting (sic) and I think it’s a manslaughter,” jurors heard.
Following his arrest on August 28, Wilson told police he had struck the victim in “self-defence”.
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He claimed Mr Imnetu was behaving erratically, harassing girls, and had a bottle.
On being shown CCTV of Mr Imnetu being assaulted on the ground, Wilson said it “seems excessive now” and watching it was “f****** disgusting”, jurors were told.
Giving evidence in his trial, Wilson claimed he hit Mr Imnetu because he felt “trapped” and “scared” and believed that the chef was holding a smashed bottle, although that turned out not to be the case.
Asked what he would have done differently with the benefit of hindsight, Wilson said: “The thing that always haunts me the most was the police were so close and I didn’t know at the time.”
Wilson, of Napier Road, Leytonstone, east London, was remanded into custody and will be sentenced by Judge Philip Katz on Friday February 28.
Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, who led the investigation, said: “Our thoughts very much remain with Mussie’s family and friends in Dubai, Sweden and London, who had to re-live the last traumatic moments of his life during the trial after Wilson refused to take responsibility for his actions.
“Mussie was a loving husband, father, son and a respected chef. He was in London for a few days to help train his colleagues and went out that evening to enjoy the post Notting Hill Carnival atmosphere, where tragically he was violently assaulted.”
After the attack Wilson quickly left the area, actively avoiding police officers as he did so. He then travelled across London to attend a nightclub on Gaunt Street, SE1. This was only about an hour-and-a-half after his attack on Mussie.
