West Drayton man guilty of manslaughter over watch dispute

Harper Dennis, 19, from West Drayton, London, has been convicted of manslaughter after stabbing Khaleed Oladipo five times in the chest. The incident took place on February 3 near De Montfort University in Leicester. Dennis was found guilty by a jury following a two-week trial at Leicester Crown Court, having been cleared of murder.

Dispute over watch and money

The prosecution stated that the stabbing stemmed from a dispute over a fake Rolex watch and a sum of money. Jane Osborne KC, prosecuting, told the jury that Dennis believed Mr Oladipo owed him money. Dennis claimed he had sent £6,000, provided by his parents, to Mr Oladipo for a scam, but received no return. Instead, Mr Oladipo gave him the watch, claiming it was genuine. Dennis told the court he felt annoyed and disappointed when he discovered the watch was fake after taking it to a jeweller in Hatton Garden.

Dennis also stated in court that he had threatened to expose Mr Oladipo online as untrustworthy and a poor businessman. Detective Inspector Lorna Granville from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit Major Crime Team described the events as a 'shocking set of circumstances'. DI Granville commented that the individuals involved were slowly realising the dispute was over something trivial and that they must live with the consequences of the loss forever.

Sentencing

Harper Dennis is scheduled to be sentenced later this afternoon at Leicester Crown Court.