Man found guilty of murdering former friend in Northampton

A Northampton man has been found guilty of killing Clinton Obeng Oppong Antwi – just yards from the 23-year-old’s home – in December last year.

Following a three-week trial at Northampton Crown Court, it took the jury of five women and five men more than six and a half hours to deliberate and return a verdict and today (Friday, June 13) found Junior Emmanuel Uwadia guilty of murdering Clinton on December 11.

The court heard that what started as a trivial disagreement between the two men over getting something to eat festered over the following days and ultimately led to Clinton losing his life and Uwadia facing a life sentence.

The night before the fatal incident, a mutual friend arranged for Clinton, 25-year-old Uwadia and another friend to meet at Weston Favell Shopping Centre, but instead of them reconciling their differences, tempers flared again.

All four men then drove to a car park near Flaxwell Court in Standens Barn, where Clinton and Uwadia clashed with the victim driving his car at the defendant, which was captured on CCTV.

The court also heard that it was during this incident on December 10 that Uwadia was seen holding a large kitchen knife down by his side – which his defence claimed was out of bravado after he felt Clinton had disrespected him.

Following this incident, the mutual friends attempted to play peacemaker and exchanged a series of messages with Uwadia, in which he asked him to come back and told him not to be scared.

However, Uwadia responded “I’m the one that’s scared” followed by three laughing emojis and “OK then” before stating “he was lucky I spared his life”. The friend continued to try to persuade him to go back to Flaxwell Court.

The next day the messages continued but this time the friend was acting as the go-between for Clinton and Uwadia, and once again was attempting to arrange another meeting between the pair.

In this exchange of messages, Uwadia told him “I’ve got my blade, we don’t do fair fights” – before adding that “if I come back, someone is going to heaven.”

It appeared that the previous night’s event was the spark which ignited the touch paper, and less than 24 hours later, the pair would meet again at the same car park, near Clinton’s home with deadly consequences.

Captured on CCTV, the meeting led to a further confrontation between the two men which once again escalated quickly from a verbal exchange to physical violence. It was during this fight that a knife fell out of Uwadia’s bag.

Clinton picked it up and with the knife pointing away from the Uwadia, he assaulted him with a metal cannister before threatening to damage his car and turning to walk towards the vehicle.

It was at this point that Uwadia grabbed the knife from Clinton, who turned to run, that Uwadia delivered the fatal blow and stabbed him twice in the back.

Clinton shouted that he needed an ambulance after being stabbed and as he fell to all fours Uwadia stabbed him in the back a second time. As he fled the scene, he shouted, “I told you this would happen”.

Sadly, despite the best efforts of his friend, police officers and paramedics who carried out CPR at the scene, Clinton died shortly after arriving at Northampton General Hospital – less than 45 minutes after being attacked.

Uwadia was later arrested at his home address in Northfield Way in Northampton, and during a subsequent search of his bedroom, the murder weapon was found hidden in a tripod bag underneath clothing in his wardrobe along with a note reminding himself to “get rid of the splasher”.

He was subsequently charged with murder and one count of having an article with a blade or point in a public place, and on December 14, he appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court, where he was remanded in custody after his case was committed to crown court.

Despite providing no comment in his six formal police interviews and choosing not to take the stand at his trial, the court heard that although Uwadia accepted he inflicted both wounds, he didn’t intend to kill Clinton or cause serious harm and was acting in self-defence.

However, the jury didn’t believe this version of events and found Uwadia guilty of the unlawful killing of Clinton and guilty of the possession of a knife in a public place.

Speaking after the verdict, Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell, of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), said: “The loss of Clinton’s life is a tragedy, coming after the needless escalation of an argument between two men who were previously friends.

“Junior Uwadi went to meet Clinton on December 11 carrying a knife. Only he knows why he put it in his bag that day, and now he, and everyone who knew and loved Clinton, must live forever with the consequences of that decision.

“The presence of a knife turns any conflict into a potentially life or death situation, as this case tragically illustrates.

“Nothing can bring Clinton back, but I very much hope this guilty verdict offers some comfort to his devastated family and friends. Our thoughts remain with them all in their grief.”

Uwadia will be sentenced at Northampton Crown Court on Wednesday, June 18.