Deport youth murderer says judge

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The home secretary has been urged to deport a youth who murdered two women in two weeks.

Mr Justice Gross said during the sentencing hearing of Angolan refugee Robert Malasi, 18, that he hoped John Reid would reassess the youth's status.

Malasi, of Peckham, south-east London, stabbed Ruth Okechukwu in Camberwell, south-east London in September 2005.

Two weeks later he shot Zainab Kalokoh in the head during a christening on the Wood Dene Estate in Peckham.

Malasi pleaded guilty last month to stabbing Ruth Okechukwu and was found guilty of shooting Mrs Kalokoh.

Mrs Kalokoh, 33, was shot in the head as she cradled her baby niece at the christening.

War-torn Angola

Malasi and three others wore masks during the raid.

As Mrs Kalokoh lay dying with a bullet in her head, the gang stripped guests of valuables.

Ruth Okechukwu was dragged from her car and stabbed six times

Brothers Diamond, 17, and Timy, 15, Babamuboni, and Jude Odigie, 16, were jailed for life for Mrs Kalokoh's murder.

Jurors heard how Malasi targeted Miss Okechukwu two weeks later.

He held a grudge against her because he believed she had spoken disrespectfully to him during a mobile phone call.

Sir John Nutting QC, defending, said Malasi may have been affected by spending four years in war-torn Angola where people were killed on a regular basis.

Mr Justice Gross remanded the youths in custody until Wednesday so he can decide Malasi's minimum term for his mandatory life terms.

Malasi has indefinite leave to remain in the UK.