Teenager jailed for knife murder

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/london/6434947.stm

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An 18-year-old who stabbed a teenager to death during a fight which was recorded on a mobile phone has been jailed for life.

Rehan Asghar, of Ilford, east London, was earlier found guilty of murdering Kashif Mahmood, 16, in a subway in Ilford High Road on September 2005.

Jurors heard the boys agreed to meet for a fist fight after a row the previous day over Kashif's girlfriend.

Asghar was ordered to serve at least 12 years by the Old Bailey judge.

Kashif, of Goodmayes Lane, east London, was stabbed several times during the fight which lasted for 11 seconds.

A group of 10 youths watched the whole incident, the prosecution said.

Some of them told him to video the fight with his mobile phone Brian Altman, prosecutor

Brian Altman, prosecuting, said Kashif had assumed only fists would be used and the two marched "like boxers" into the subway followed by other youths.

"When Kashif got the better of the fight, the defendant resorted to the cowardly use of a knife with fatal results," he added.

CCTV footage shown in court showed one of the youths watching the fight recording the whole incident on a mobile phone.

Mr Altman said: "Some of them told him to video the fight with his mobile phone."

Kashif Mahmood agreed to a fist fight with Asghar

The phone was recovered by police but there was no trace of the footage.

Kashif had enrolled at Stratford College to study motor mechanics just before his death while Asghar was still at school.

Asghar was found guilty of murder after a trial last month.

Det Ch Insp Stuart Wratten said: "This cowardly crime highlights how a local dispute between associates can escalate into tragedy when someone carries a knife."

Police are still looking for Fasal Hussein, 19, in connection with the murder. He is believed to have left the UK for Pakistan.