A MAN has been found guilty of the murder of a young father who died after being stabbed in the heart.
David Molloy, 24, was murdered after going to his partner’s home after reports that a drug dealer was at the property.
On Tuesday, Mohammed Khalid, 27, of no fixed address, was convicted of murder at Luton Crown Court and will be sentenced on September 13.
Defensive wounds
During a three-week trial, the court heard that Mr Molloy had gone to the address in Saturn Way, Hemel Hempstead, in the early hours of March 13 after being told that Khalid was there with his partner, whom he was in an on/off relationship with.
Once Mr Molloy arrived at the address there was an altercation and he was stabbed twice to the lower back and once to the chest, which caused a fatal wound to his heart.
He also had defensive wounds to his arms.
Khalid fled to Paul Smith’s flat in the town where he changed his clothes before taking a taxi to Luton.
Planned to flee
Over the next 48 hours Khalid made plans to flee the country to Pakistan but was arrested in London on March 15 as he tried to obtain travel documents.
Smith, 48, of Hosking Court in Maylands Avenue, Hemel Hempstead, was charged with assisting an offender and intending to pervert the course of justice by giving a false statement about what had happened on the night of Mr Molloy’s death.
He was found guilty of the latter charge but was cleared of assisting an offender. He will be sentenced on September 18.
Matthew Eyles, 44, who at the time was of no fixed address and Emma Payne, 41, of Eight Acres in Tring were both charged with assisting an offender but were found not guilty.
Devastating consequences
Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “A young father has lost his life due to the actions of a drug dealer who thought nothing of brandishing a knife and using it against another person.”
She added: “I hope that this case serves as a deterrent to those who deal in drugs and carry knives and reminds them of the devastating consequences engaging in this type of criminality can have.”
In a statement Mr Molloy’s family said: “We are happy to have justice for David today but no amount of time will ever bring him back.
"We miss him every day and we will always have a massive hole where he should be.”
