TWO men have been found guilty of the murder of a 24-year-old in Slough with a third man found guilty of hiding the weapons involved.
Mohammed Rafaqit Kayani died from a fatal stab wound to the chest during an incident in Keel Drive on August 30, 2021.
Riaz Miah, 21, of no fixed abode, and Hassan Al-Kubanji, 21, of Peabody Avenue, London, have been found guilty of murder today (March 9) following a four week trial at Reading Crown Court.
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Miguel Parian John, aged 41, of Concorde Way, Slough, has been found guilty of assisting an offender by hiding the blades involved in the incident.
Throughout the trial, the jury heard that Miah was in Slough dealing drugs in order to earn more money for his unborn child after he struggled to find work.
He told the court he had bought a blade after being told Slough was ‘rough’ in case he needed to ‘scare someone off’.
On the day of the incident, he was in a park off Concorde Way with Al-Kubanji who had come to visit him when there was an ‘altercation’ with Mr Kayani.
The defence case was that Mr Kayani had brought a knife to the park and started the fight as the pair were dealing drugs on his ‘territory’.
The victim was then chased from the park to the Slough Hindu Temple in Keel Drive at about 1.40pm. CCTV footage showed the three men ‘striking at each other’ before Mr Kayani was tragically stabbed in the chest and the defendants fled from the scene.
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Miah and Al-Kubanji then returned to John’s home where Miah was staying in the daytime periodically. John was then caught removing the two blades involved in the incident from his home in a white sheet. They were later recovered by police in a hedge near his home.
The men were arrested the following month and charged with 10 counts collectively.
Before the trial, Miah pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying Class A drugs and one count of having a bladed article in a public place.
Al-Kubanji was found not guilty of two counts of supplying Class A drugs and not guilty of possessing a bladed weapon in a public place.
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John was found guilty of two counts of having a blade or point in a public place but not guilty to two counts of possessing a controlled drug with intent to sell.
During the delivery of the jury's verdict, a brawl broke out in the court room with threats being made to members of the jury and 'banging' on the dock window.
Police were called to escort the jury from the building and to block off the entrance for about 40 minutes.
Two people have been arrested, one on suspicion of a public order offence and the other on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker. They remain in police custody.
Sentencing of the men will take place at a later date.
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