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Tommy Boom
Two men have been found guilty of killing 30-year-old Tommy Boom in a Northampton park last summer.
Following a two-week trial at Northampton Crown Court, the jury of nine women and three men today (January 23) found Daniel Larman and Kieran Okocha-Sleight guilty of murder.
The court heard that the 21-year-old dealers had agreed to meet a woman at Miller’s Meadow – also known as Semilong Park – shortly after midnight on July 18, 2024, to sell her drugs.
When they arrived at the park, Okocha-Sleight sat next to her on a bench, while Larman stood in front of her, when Tommy appeared with another man and asked what they were doing there.
Larman pulled out a large hunting knife from his waistband, and when Tommy asked him what he was going to do with it and told him to put it down, Larman lunged at him, stabbing him twice – once in the side of the chest which proved to be the fatal blow.
Tommy collapsed, and despite the best efforts of the emergency services, he tragically died at the scene and a murder investigation was launched.
Following the killing, Larman and Okocha-Sleight filmed the murder weapon with Tommy’s blood on it with a banner which read “just had to juice a guy up” and sent it to an associate along with a second video of a blood-stained trainer with three laughing emojis.
At about 8.40am that morning, Larman filmed himself walking past the crime scene before fleeing Northampton by train to the Birmingham area, where he told the court that he disposed of blood-stained clothing and the weapon in a West Midlands canal.
With support from West Midlands Police, Larman and Okocha-Sleight were arrested the next day (Friday, July 19) at an address in the Birmingham area, before going on to be subsequently charged with Tommy’s murder.
Despite providing no comment in his formal police interviews, during the trial Larman claimed he killed Tommy – who was unarmed – in self-defence as he had allegedly previously robbed Okocha-Sleight and thought the meeting was a trap.
However, the jury didn’t believe his version of events and found both men guilty of the brutal and unlawful killing of Tommy, despite the defence attempting to paint the father-of-one as the aggressor that night.
Speaking after the verdict, Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell, of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), said: “During this trial both defendants tried in vain to taint the reputation of Tommy, painting a picture that he had been the aggressor and was armed with a knife. This was just not the case.
“We will never truly know what happened on that night, but what we can be certain of is that Tommy was unarmed and was murdered in cold blood by Daniel Larman, who admitted in court to habitually carrying a knife.
“Regardless of the life Tommy led or the circles he moved in, he did not deserve to be killed in such a brutal way and I am pleased the jury saw through Larman and Okocha-Sleight, who showed no remorse as they pleaded self-defence.
“Although today’s guilty verdict may bring some comfort to Tommy’s family and friends, I am sure this will not feel like a win and instead of celebrating the verdict, they would rather have their much-loved son and brother still alive.
“Tommy paid the ultimate price for being involved in the supply of drugs and exposed to the associated violence which goes with it, and two young men will spend much of their adulthoods in prison.
“Then there are their devastated loved ones – family and friends – whose worlds have been ripped apart and lives changed forever - there are never any winners in these circumstances as the impact of drugs and knife crime touches all our lives.
“Finally, I would like to thank Tommy’s family for their unwavering support and the dignified way they have conducted themselves during this trial, as well as all those who have played their part in this investigation, both witnesses and investigators, to help secure these convictions.”
Larman, previously of Kingstanding, in Birmingham, and Ockoha-Sleight, previously of Paget House, Woodside Way, in Northampton, will be sentenced at Northampton Crown Court at a date to be confirmed.