A teenager has been found guilty of murdering a 17-year-old weapons dealer in broad daylight before pushing him into a canal in west London.
Victor Lee had sold Elijah Gokool-Mely a crossbow earlier that day.
He was stabbed twice in the back and once in the chest on the towpath of the Grand Union Canal, near Wormwood Scrubs Park, on June 25 last year.
Rapper Gokool-Mely, 18, was convicted of the murder after a jury at the Old Bailey deliberated for more than 16 hours.
Jurors also found him guilty of robbing the victim of his bike and rucksack.
Two boys - aged 15 and 16 - were both acquitted of murder and robbery on Monday.
A notebook was recovered from Gookol-Mely’s prison cell while he was on remand in December 2023.
It contained the rap verses: “Everyone on at the 8pm news, ITV, Sky, BBC; Broadcasting the stabbing I done.
“The people that knew me changed their views; I tried my best to leave no clues.
“My door got boomed, my mum’s confused; No I don’t feel sorry for the yute [victim].”
Later lyrics revealed his lack of remorse, adding: “On the phone I’m saying I’m innocent; Hop of (sic) the call then laugh in my cell.
“Aye officer no I didn’t kill him; Just stabbed him sent him heaven or hell.”
Two men living on houseboats on the other side of the water were able to haul Victor out on to the bank but he bled to death within minutes.
The trial heard Victor, from North Acton, had bought knives and a crossbow on the internet in the months before his death and had been selling them on for a profit.
The prosecution told jurors that Victor appears to have met up with the three defendants at the towpath at around 3.30pm and sold them a crossbow.
It was said the same group then met for a second time at the same location at around 5.30pm, after Victor was asked if he had any knives to sell, which is when the attack occurred.
There were no witnesses to the killing but one witness saw the tallest of the three boys – Gokool-Mely – pushing Victor into the canal, the court heard.
Gokool-Mely, of Australia Road, Shepherd’s Bush, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on July 19.
Of Victor, Crispin Aylett KC, prosecuting, told the jury: “You might say he had been playing a dangerous game. On the other hand, you may think he would not have expected to be murdered by his own customers.”
A knife was recovered from Gookol-Mely’s home address, on which Victor’s blood and the defendant’s DNA was found.
Detectives established that robbery was the motive for the brutal attack with Gookol-Mely stealing Victor’s bike and his rucksack, which officers believe contained a number of knives.
Victor did not fully understand the harm that others could cause with the weapons that he appeared to enjoy trading, police said.
Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie, the senior investigating Metropolitan Police officer, said: “Victor was a young man who was not directly involved with gangs or criminality – he had an interest in buying, fixing and selling bikes.
“He had energy and drive but sadly not enough wisdom. His family have told me that he had an inability to properly assess situations, people or threats.
“When Victor crossed paths with the defendant, he took advantage of him and ultimately subjected him to a sudden, unprovoked and shockingly violent assault.
“Having worked so intensely on this case – speaking to Victor’s family and thinking about his life and tragic death – it will forever be a source of regret to me that this vulnerable but independent young man was able to buy weapons online simply by altering the date of birth in his passport.
“Having previously purchased knives, Victor brought a crossbow online in the days before he was killed, and seems to have sold this to his killer at around 3pm on the day of his murder.
“He was robbed and murdered when seeking to sell knives to him later that day.
“Apparently unable to grasp the devastating consequences of his actions, he probably regarded this as an interesting scheme to make some money.
“But, having met his killer after arranging to sell the weapons via Snapchat, this scheme sparked the events which cost him his life.
“Victor had his life ahead of him and his family have been torn apart by what happened to him.
“They are understandably still struggling to come to terms with his murder, and the events that led to his death at such a young age.
“My thoughts are with them today, and I can only hope that today’s conviction can bring them some small measure of comfort.”
