Two men have been convicted for their part in the death of 22-year old Kai Davis, who was stabbed in central Kingston in August 2021.
A Metropolitan Police statement said that following a trial at Kingston Crown Court, Joseph Barker, 23, of Clifton Gardens, Uxbridge was found guilty of manslaughter and Ben Myles, 24, of North End Road, W14 Southall was found guilty of murder. A third man was acquitted.
Detective Inspector Mike Nolan said: “My thoughts today are with Kai’s family and friends who continue to try and come to terms with this tragic and unnecessary incident which resulted in the death of a young man with his whole life to live.”
The statement said Davis had been on his way home from Epsom with a friend. They stopped in Kingston to get food and spoke to people outside Pryzm nightclub.
Myles and Barker then approached and stabbed Davis in the chest. He attempted to run and collapsed outside the Premier Inn on Wheatfield Way.
Police officers and medics from Pryzm attended to him before the London Ambulance service arrived. He was flown by air ambulance to St Georges Hospital and later pronounced dead.
A collection of flowers, hand-written notes and other items are still outside the Premier Inn to memorialize Davis.
Officers from Specialist Crime South investigated and used CCTV footage to piece together the events of the night.
Metropolitan Police said officers identified the suspects and were able to retrieve the murder weapon from a drain using a magnet.
Myles and Barker were arrested on September 1.
The trial began at Kingston Crown Court on September 21, and the verdict was delivered on Friday.
The statement said that in court Myles attempted to argue he had wrestled the knife from Davis and the fatal injury was done in self-defence.
Police said their investigation revealed Myles took great care when disposing of the weapon and that he had not told police he had acted in self-defence during interviewing.
Two other men were also arrested in connection with the stabbing of Davis. They were later released with no further action.
