Fugitive caught at Notting Hill Carnival sentenced for murdering ex-girlfriend's father
Kamar Williams stabbed bus driver Derek Thomas, 55, in Hackney, northeast London, on 30 July last year.
He escaped from police after crashing a hired BMW a few days later, but was captured at the carnival on 26 August.
Williams, from the Isle of Dogs in east London, was last week found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey.
Judge Angela Rafferty said he was "simmering with rage" on the night of the murder after arguing with his ex-partner Carron Thomas and her family.
"I am sure that in your frustration and anger, you planned to have a violent confrontation with one of the Thomas family that night," the judge said at Friday's sentencing.
The trial heard Ms Thomas had received threatening and abusive texts from Williams and called police twice in the hours before the stabbing.
Williams - who had earlier gone to Ms Thomas's sister's address - went to her father's home looking for him or his daughter, but they weren't in.
As he drove off, he spotted Mr Thomas on Stoke Newington Common at around 11pm. The bus driver had been to Tesco after finishing a shift.
Williams stopped his van and stabbed him five times, leaving the contents of the shopping bag strewn over the pavement and road.
"I am sure that you intended to kill Derek Thomas. This was a merciless and determined attack," said Judge Rafferty.
"You killed him even though at one time you saw him as a father figure. You knew how important he was to his wife and his children as you had lived alongside them for two years."
Williams claimed he acted in self-defence after the victim produced a knife and that he had wanted to talk Mr Thomas about his relationship with his daughter.
Ms Thomas said her father was a "kind, gentle and loving man" who "did not deserve to have his life taken in such a senseless way".
A family statement added: "Derek will be greatly missed by his family and friends, he was a dedicated family man and worked hard to provide for them. He was the life and soul of the family.
"Derek was always on hand to provide support, knowledge, advice and was a calming influence when it was required.
"His passing has left a massive hole in the lives of his wife, children, grandchildren, family and all that knew him. He was greatly loved by all and will never be forgotten."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Labour must speed up plans to shut all asylum hotels, says party's red wall chief
Labour must shut down all asylum hotels 'a lot quicker' than its current plan to put a stop to them by the end of the current parliament in 2029, the chairman of the party's red wall group of MPs has said. Jo White, the MP for Bassetlaw, who leads a caucus of around 40 MPs in the party's traditional heartlands, said Chancellor Rachel Reeves ' plan to axe the use of asylum hotels by 2029 needed to be sped up. There are currently around 32,000 asylum seekers in hotels around the UK. Anti-migrant demonstrations last week outside one of those hotels, in Epping, led to more than a dozen arrests. The hotel was thrust into the spotlight after a man living there was charged with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity. The man, from Ethiopia, has denied the offences and remains on remand in custody. Ms White told The Telegraph: 'There's a commitment to close down the hotels by the end of the parliamentary term. I think we all want it to be a lot, lot quicker than that.' 'There is a huge sense of unfairness because people work hard here in this country and commit to supporting the country and then there's the sense that what asylum hotels cost is a huge drag on what should be invested into our NHS, our schools and our infrastructure. 'So they have to close, we have to get those asylum hotels cleared out.' She added that she believes Labour ministers share her frustrations and went on to urge Sir Keir Starmer to 'stop the incentives' for those seeking to reach the UK illegally. A record 24,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, the highest tally for the first half of the year since records began in 2018. It represents a 48 per cent rise compared to the first six months of last year. Ms White welcomed home secretary Yvette Cooper 's plan to share asylum‑hotel locations with food‑delivery firms, calling it a sensible measure to crack down on illegal working. She also urged Sir Keir Starmer and Ms Cooper to revisit the idea of national identity cards, a proposal repeatedly ruled out by Downing Street. Reflecting on last week's demonstrations in Epping, however, she described the scenes as 'really frightening and quite scary', adding that while anger is understandable, violence against asylum seekers could not be condoned. It was revealed last week that plans to reduce the number of asylum hotels could see migrants rehoused in vacant residential properties and council‑owned homes. Public concern over the scheme has intensified as Sir Keir has vowed to significantly reduce both legal and illegal migration. At the same time, more than 40,000 failed asylum seekers remain in limbo, having appealed against their decisions and still requiring housing. A government spokesman said that since taking office, ministers had acted immediately to fix the asylum system, closing hotels and removing over 35,000 people with no right to be here.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Appeal for movements of car night before mother and two children were killed
Detectives investigating the deaths of a woman and her two teenage children in Co Fermanagh have appealed for information about the movements of a car the night before they died. Vanessa Whyte, 45, a vet originally from Co Clare, her son James, 14, and daughter Sara, 13, died following a shooting incident at a house in Maguiresbridge on Wednesday morning. Advertisement Detectives from the major investigation team, who are carrying out the murder investigation, said they are continuing with their inquiries and are appealing for information involving the movements of a vehicle. Flowers and a teddy bear laid close to the scene of a triple shooting on Wednesday in Drummeer Road in Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA. Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness said: 'Our investigation is ongoing and we are working tirelessly to determine the exact circumstances of this tragedy. 'I would continue to appeal generally for anyone with information to come forward and more specifically I would ask anyone who saw a silver Mercedes saloon car being driven in the Clones Road area of Newtownbutler, or between Maguiresbridge and Newtownbutler, on the evening of Tuesday July 22 to call detectives on 101, quoting reference 276 23/07/25. 'Anyone who was travelling in the area and who may have captured dashcam footage which could assist, please get in touch.' Advertisement A fourth person, a man who was a member of the same household, remains in a serious condition in hospital in Belfast following the incident on Wednesday. A murder investigation has been launched and police said a triple murder and attempted suicide is one line of inquiry being pursued. On Friday, hundreds of people attended a community vigil for the family. The vigil was organised by a community group and held at Maguiresbridge Primary School, where James and Sara previously attended. Advertisement People attend a vigil for Vanessa Whyte and her children James and Sara at Maguiresbridge Primary School. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA. A book of condolence, set up next to a framed photo of the family and surrounded by white flowers and candles, was also opened at the school. Ireland Hundreds gather at vigil for mother and children k... Read More The deaths have caused widespread shock across the small Co Fermanagh community. Flowers, teddy bears and an Arsenal football top with written notes have been laid close to scene of the incident in Drummeer Road. Anyone with information is asked to provide it to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Advertisement
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
RAF base near Epping to house more migrants
The number of migrants being housed at a former RAF base close to the site of protests over asylum seekers in Essex is set to increase sharply, a council leader has revealed. MDP Wethersfield in Essex – which is 30 miles from the scene of confrontations over migrants being housed at a hotel in Epping – has been home to hundreds of single male asylum seekers since July 2023. Graham Butland, the Conservative leader of Braintree district council, said the authority was told last week that the number could rise from the current 800 men to 1,220. Cllr Butland told a council meeting on Monday that the Home Office was considering using its 'temporary surge capacity' to meet the demand of asylum seekers arriving in the UK. He said 'although no final decision has been made', numbers could rise 'as soon as next week'. This has led to local speculation that migrants from The Bell Hotel in Epping, where there have been frequent stand-offs between anti-migrant protesters and counter-protesters, could be moved to the former base. Any such move has been denied by the Home Office, which said the two locations were 'completely different issues'. The rise in the number likely to be housed at MDP Wethersfield comes as Epping district council said the Home Office must close The Bell Hotel and move the migrants out. Councillors voted unanimously on Thursday to urge the Government to close the hotel where protests have been held since July 13. The Epping protests were triggered when Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, a 38-year-old asylum seeker from Ethiopia, was charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. Mr Kebatu denied the charge when he appeared at Chelmsford magistrates' court on July 17. Later that evening, Essex Police was accused of escorting counter-protesters from Stand up to Racism to The Bell Hotel, where violent scuffles subsequently broke out. Police have made 18 arrests and charged seven people in connection with the Bell demonstrations. Essex Police said migrants staying at the hotel had been advised to remain indoors after 5pm and 'some had experienced verbal and physical harassment'. One resident had been chased and injured when returning to the hotel, and the premises had been daubed in graffiti, with windows smashed. Roger Hirst, Essex's police, fire and crime commissioner has urged Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, to review the use of the hotel for housing asylum seekers. James Cleverly, the Conservative former home secretary who represents Wethersfield in Parliament, has written to Ms Cooper asking her to 'urgently clarify the basis for this decision, the expected timeline, and how the Home Office intends to fulfil its obligations to the local authority and the local community going forward, especially in light of the current public concern and disorder just across the county in Epping'. In February, the Government increased the capacity at Wethersfield, which is six miles north-west of Braintree and was used as headquarters and training centre for the Ministry of Defence Police until 2022, from 580 to 800. Mark Ault, an independent councillor whose ward includes Wethersfield, told The Telegraph: 'It's inevitable there will be an increase in tension as a result of increasing the number of asylum seekers at the base – whether that's protests from the Left or the Right. 'Sir Keir Starmer has again reneged on his promise to close Wethersfield down and instead they are going to increase the numbers.' Nathan Robins, 19, interim chairman of Reform UK's Braintree branch, said: 'Unfortunately, when James Cleverly was home secretary, he allowed this [the location to be used] to go ahead. It's too late for him to be against it now, he should have been against it when he was home secretary. 'There are concerns about them being able to leave whenever they want – and they also get a free bus service. 'If you're an elderly resident and you don't get that treatment when you've been paying taxes all your life, it's just unbelievable. 'We need to start deporting people who come here illegally and leaving the ECHR to allow us to do that. Some residents who voted Labour have told me they will now never vote Labour again.' Mr Butland told councillors following the past week's disturbances in Epping that the utmost must be done 'to keep the temperature on this down and not exacerbate the situation'. The Home Office has said it is committed to providing a 'more sustainable and cost-effective asylum accommodation system', compared with the higher cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels. A spokesman said: 'The increase in capacity to 1,200 is for the short term and we intend to return it to 800 as soon as we can.' Whitehall sources said the Home Office has a legal obligation to meet the essential living needs of destitute asylum seekers and the Wethersfield site is designed to be as self-sufficient as possible. Sir Keir Starmer has refused to put a date on when the Government might stop placing asylum seekers at Wethersfield. A second police force was embroiled in a row this week over its escorting of anti-racism counter-protesters to a demonstration outside a migrant hotel. Footage showed officers from Hampshire Constabulary walking alongside activists in May to Potters International Hotel, a site in Aldershot housing asylum seekers and the location of regular anti-migrant demonstrations.
