crime reporter(wp/es):
The family of a man “hunted down” and stabbed to death after an argument at a boxing match today urged witnesses to break their silence and help get justice for his young daughters.
Luther Edwards, 32, was set upon by a group of at least 15 men as he left York Hall in Bethnal Green. He was stabbed in the chest and left to die on a petrol station forecourt.
The attack took place in front of his sister Naresa Edwards and the mother of his 12-year-old daughter, who were both kicked and punched as they tried to shield him from the knife blows.
Ms Edwards, who held her brother in her arms as he fought for life, today spoke for the first time about the murder to beg for help to catch his killers, four weeks after the attack.
Police arrested and bailed three men in connection with the murder on July 29 but no one has been charged.
Ms Edwards told the Standard: “My brother was my world. He was a good, caring man who loved his two daughters with all his heart — now they will grow up without a father.
“We had the first birthday party for his youngest daughter on Saturday. It should have been happy but it was sad. We want justice for his daughters, for his family and for him.
“He was an innocent man out with his sister and the mother of his daughters when he was attacked.
“We believe people filmed the attack on him and filmed inside the boxing match and we’d ask people to go to the police with those images as they could be what helps to catch those responsible. We are frightened his killers are still walking the streets.”
His family said today the murder followed an argument at the bar in the boxing venue between Mr Edwards and a stranger which they believed had been resolved.
Mr Edwards, who they said had nothing to do with gangs, had taken his sister and former partner to the venue in Old Ford Road to watch a friend box.
Some 45 minutes later, at about 10.35pm, he was attacked by a group of “ethnically diverse, heavy-set men” as he left the building after the final bout.
The family believe the group had also left the hall after watching the final fight. Despite paramedics’ efforts to save Mr Edwards, he was pronounced dead at around 11.40pm.
The former Lambeth College student, who lived in Clapham and grew up in Stockwell, worked as a HGV driver to provide for his daughters, Nylah, one, and Aaliyah, 12, who has cerebral palsy.
His family said: “A simple argument at a boxing match should not lead to death, should not lead to a good man being hunted down by a mob, killed in the street and leaving his family feeling broken. We are bereft, we are grief-stricken and we demand justice for Luther, for those whom he left behind and for those who loved him.”
A 31-year-old man was arrested six days after the attack, and two other men aged 23 and 26 were arrested in subsequent days. All have now been bailed until September.
The family of a man “hunted down” and stabbed to death after an argument at a boxing match today urged witnesses to break their silence and help get justice for his young daughters.
Luther Edwards, 32, was set upon by a group of at least 15 men as he left York Hall in Bethnal Green. He was stabbed in the chest and left to die on a petrol station forecourt.
The attack took place in front of his sister Naresa Edwards and the mother of his 12-year-old daughter, who were both kicked and punched as they tried to shield him from the knife blows.
Ms Edwards, who held her brother in her arms as he fought for life, today spoke for the first time about the murder to beg for help to catch his killers, four weeks after the attack.
Police arrested and bailed three men in connection with the murder on July 29 but no one has been charged.
Ms Edwards told the Standard: “My brother was my world. He was a good, caring man who loved his two daughters with all his heart — now they will grow up without a father.
“We had the first birthday party for his youngest daughter on Saturday. It should have been happy but it was sad. We want justice for his daughters, for his family and for him.
“He was an innocent man out with his sister and the mother of his daughters when he was attacked.
“We believe people filmed the attack on him and filmed inside the boxing match and we’d ask people to go to the police with those images as they could be what helps to catch those responsible. We are frightened his killers are still walking the streets.”
His family said today the murder followed an argument at the bar in the boxing venue between Mr Edwards and a stranger which they believed had been resolved.
Mr Edwards, who they said had nothing to do with gangs, had taken his sister and former partner to the venue in Old Ford Road to watch a friend box.
Some 45 minutes later, at about 10.35pm, he was attacked by a group of “ethnically diverse, heavy-set men” as he left the building after the final bout.
The family believe the group had also left the hall after watching the final fight. Despite paramedics’ efforts to save Mr Edwards, he was pronounced dead at around 11.40pm.
The former Lambeth College student, who lived in Clapham and grew up in Stockwell, worked as a HGV driver to provide for his daughters, Nylah, one, and Aaliyah, 12, who has cerebral palsy.
His family said: “A simple argument at a boxing match should not lead to death, should not lead to a good man being hunted down by a mob, killed in the street and leaving his family feeling broken. We are bereft, we are grief-stricken and we demand justice for Luther, for those whom he left behind and for those who loved him.”
A 31-year-old man was arrested six days after the attack, and two other men aged 23 and 26 were arrested in subsequent days. All have now been bailed until September.
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