Murder of Tom ap Rhys Pryce
Tom ap Rhys Pryce | |
---|---|
Born | Thomas Mervyn ap Rhys Pryce 13 October 1974 Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, UK |
Died | Kensal Green, London, UK | 12 January 2006 (aged 31)
Cause of death | Murder by stabbing |
Occupation | Lawyer |
Known for | Murder victim |
Partner | Adele Eastman (engaged) |
Thomas Mervyn "Tom" ap Rhys Pryce (13 October 1974 – 12 January 2006) was a 31-year-old British lawyer who was robbed and murdered by two teenagers as he made his way home in Kensal Green, northwest London, on 12 January 2006. The two, Donnel Carty and Delano Brown, were sentenced to life imprisonment.[1]
The crime was widely reported for the way in which Pryce was murdered, only metres from his own home, and had only his
Life of Tom ap Rhys Pryce
Tom ap Rhys Pryce was a 31-year-old lawyer who worked for Linklaters, an international law firm headquartered in London. Pryce was born in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England.[3] At the age of three, the Pryce family moved to Somalia after Pryce's father, John, a civil engineer, was sent to work there as part of a project to build a sugar factory, there he "enjoyed an idyllic early childhood".[4] After 18 months they returned home to Hertfordshire before moving in 1980 to the family home in Weybridge where Pryce grew up. His ancestry was one well known within the military and among his ancestors was his great-grandfather, General Sir Henry Edward ap Rhys Pryce (1874–1950).[5] At 13, Pryce won an academic and music exhibition which was later upgraded to a full scholarship at 16 to attend Marlborough College, Wiltshire, England.
There he achieved passes at A-levels in
Events of 12 January 2006
Childhood friends,[9][10] Donnel Carty, 18, and Delano Brown, 17, had earlier that evening robbed chef Kurshid Ali,[11] a middle-aged man, in Kensal Green station, 20 minutes before Pryce arrived at the station on his way home from work.[1] Pryce was walking from Kensal Green Tube station at about 23:00 to 23:30,[12][13] when he was attacked. According to witness reports, Pryce was running along Bathurst Gardens from two black youths. According to testimony from Delano Brown, Donnel Carty stabbed Pryce after they had chased him from Kensal Green Tube station where police found a trail of blood and belongings, including a pair of gloves and papers regarding Pryce's wedding arrangements.[1] As the youths chased Pryce, Carty "fly-kicked" him in the back and he dropped to the floor. As Pryce attempted to stand up, Carty kicked him in the face. Trying to get away, Pryce began to fight Carty, as Carty stopped him.[13] Some time during this Pryce was stabbed twice in the chest and once in the hip, the wounds penetrating vital organs including his heart. He also suffered cuts to his head, hands and torso.[8][12][14] As Pryce's belongings lay scattered around him, Carty and Brown took Pryce's mobile phone and Oyster card, the only possessions of value Pryce was carrying.[12] Carty then shouted 'What else have you got?' to which Pryce responded 'Nothing. You have got everything'.[13] Carty and Brown then ran off towards Clifford Gardens, heading to Carty's home leaving Pryce dying on the ground.[8][13] Pryce was later taken to Central Middlesex Hospital, where he was confirmed dead shortly after midnight.[8]
The scene of the crime which took place along Bathurst Gardens showed the course of events of the violent confrontation. Pryce's book and gloves were lying outside No 56, a silver Audi car was smeared with blood outside No 82 and a list of wedding venues outside 84. Pryce was found collapsed in the gutter between parked cars outside No 90.[15][16]
Donnel Carty and Delano Brown
Carty and Brown were, according to Brown, childhood friends who thought of each other as cousins.[11][17] Carty lived with his grandparents in Burrows Road, Kensal Green, and Brown lived with his mother in Rosebank Avenue, Sudbury, northwest London. Carty had one conviction for assaulting a police officer when he was 16 years old, and a caution for possessing cannabis. Brown had no previous convictions. The pair were members of a violent gang calling itself the KG Tribe, taking part in the unlawful wounding of two commuters in December 2005 as well as other robberies. At the time of the murder of Pryce, Carty and Brown were 18 and 17 respectively.[11]
When both men were arrested on 18 January, Carty said he was innocent of the allegations and claimed he had been in a pub in
Trial of Carty and Brown
Police caught Carty through CCTV footage which showed him using Pryce's Oyster card (which he claimed to have found) at Kensal Green station, forensic evidence found at the homes of Carty and Brown, and Pryce's mobile phone.[14] Carty and Brown both denied murder but admitted that they had robbed Pryce and another man just before. Brown was 17 at the time of the offence so initially could not be named for legal reasons.[20]
The trial of the two defendants opened on 30 October 2006 at the
On 28 November 2006, both men were sentenced to
Reaction
The then Prime Minister Tony Blair's immediate response to the murder was to pledge the investigation of public safety at the tube station close to where Pryce was murdered, Kensal Green.[25]
No amount of poverty or deprivation can excuse crime: the blame belongs to the criminal. If Carty and Brown had been arrested at the beginning of their crime spree and sentenced to a stiff punishment, Mr ap Rhys Pryce might be alive today.
In January 2006 the Metropolitan Police Commissioner
Legacy
Following the murder of Pryce, his friends and family set up The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust to enable individuals who could not otherwise afford it to achieve their potential by gaining access to appropriate educational facilities.[2] It aims to raise at least £1 million to help educate society's poorest children.[29]
This incident sparked a major public discussion on station safety and security, mainly because the station was unstaffed when the suspects mugged Ali on the platform. The only security present was CCTV cameras, and the ticket barriers were left open allowing the suspects to enter the station freely. Many high-profile politicians spoke on the issue of station safety and called on rail companies to provide security or staff the station until the last train had left the station. The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone assailed Silverlink, the train company who managed the station, for not providing all-night staffing or security. The new provider of every franchise across the rail network will have to provide staff at all times the station is open.[30]
A school was built in Vietnam in memory of Pryce. His colleagues raised enough money to have the school built to leave a lasting legacy in his honour. The primary school opened in 2007. Its cost was met by the Hong Kong office of Pryce's employer, Linklaters.[31]
References
- ^ a b c "Neighbour 'saw lawyer's murder'". BBC News. 1 November 2006. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ a b The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust Archived 14 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Linklaters website. URL last accessed 22 December 2006.
- ^ Our angelic boy, set to have a brilliant life, Evening Standard (London), 26 January 2006, URL last accessed 24 January 2007
- ^ CCTV shows murdered solicitor's last journey, Timesonline. URL last accessed 22 December 2006.
- ^ 'I feel as though Carty and Brown have ripped out my heart with their bare hands and torn it into pieces', TimesOnline.co.uk. URL last accessed 13 January 2007
- ^ "Lawyer's life cut cruelly short", BBC News. URL last accessed 28 November 2006.
- ^ Tom and his perfect girl, Evening Standard (London), 27 November 2006
- ^ a b c d "Solicitor, 31, stabbed to death by muggers yards from home[dead link]", John Steele, The Daily Telegraph. URL last accessed 28 November 2006.
- ^ "Man admits robbing lawyer, but 'said cousin stabbed him'", The Times. URL last accessed 28 November 2006.
- Yahoo News. URL last accessed 28 November 2006.
- ^ a b c Greedy Robbers Guilty of City Lawyer Murder[permanent dead link], Life Style Extra. URL last accessed 22 December 2006.
- ^ a b c d e "Two men guilty of lawyer's murder", BBC News. URL last accessed 28 November 2006.
- ^ a b c d "Man blames his friend for murder", BBC News. URL last accessed 28 November 2006.
- ^ a b "Attackers left lawyer dying outside tube station, Old Bailey told", The Guardian. URL last accessed 28 November 2006.
- ^ ″'Greedy' teens guilty of City lawyer murder″ Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, thisislocallondon.co.uk. URL last accessed 22 December 2006.
- ^ ″Teenagers guilty of lawyer's murder″, news.aol URL last accessed 22 December 2006.
- ^ Teenagers guilty of City lawyer murder, Metro news. URL last accessed 22 December 2006.
- ^ a b Teenagers guilty of murdering lawyer, The Guardian. URL last accessed 22 December 2006.
- ^ Tears in the court, but as killers got life they could only hide their faces, TimesOnline. URL last accessed 29 December 2006.
- ^ "Teenagers deny murdering lawyer", BBC News. URL last accessed 28 November 2006.
- ^ "Accused 'had defendant beaten up'", BBC News. URL last accessed 28 November 2006.
- ^ a b "Life for killers of City lawyer", BBC News. URL last accessed 22 December 2006.
- ^ "Lawyer killer's jail term raised", BBC News. URL last accessed 30 June 2007.
- ^ Attorney General's Reference Nos. 143 and 144 of 2006 [2007] EWCA Crim 1245, [2008] 1 Cr App R (S) 28 (14 May 2007)
- ^ Blair to probe safety at murder station, Evening Standard (London), 8 February 2006. URL last accessed 27 January 2007.
- ^ Tory leader's tough message on crime, Evening Standard (London), 30 November 2006. URL last accessed 18 January 2007.
- ^ "Met chief accuses media of racism", BBC, 26 January 2006
- ^ a b The story of two murder victims, BBC, 27 January 2006
- ^ The Tom ap Rhys Pryce fund. Evening Standard (London), 8 February 2006, URL last accessed 17 January 2007.
- ^ Night staff for unmanned stations. BBC News. URL last accessed 16 January 2007.
- ^ School built in honour of murdered lawyer Tom, Evening Standard (London), 18 May 2006. URL last accessed 17 January 2007.