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Old Bailey Jails Elyas Moussa for Life With 27-Year Minimum for Killing Kensington Palace Gardener

The judge said he returned to Linacre Road armed to confront Ricardo Clarke, delivering a single thrust that pierced the heart.

Overview

  • Moussa, 30, was convicted of murder after a two-week trial earlier this month and was sentenced on Wednesday to life with a minimum term of 27 years.
  • He received a concurrent 12-month term for possessing a knife, which he admitted.
  • The court heard the street encounter escalated after Clarke flipped Moussa’s baseball cap and Moussa mocked him for not speaking Spanish despite saying he was from Chile.
  • Judge Usha Karu found Moussa went back armed, pursued Clarke and drew the blade after Clarke fell, leaving a wound that penetrated the heart by at least 6.5cm.
  • Paramedics attempted open-heart surgery before Clarke, a 35-year-old father of two who had earned a Kensington Palace gardening role over 500 applicants, was pronounced dead at 5:29am.