Two-year term for man who killed 17-year-old girl will not be reviewed despite her relatives’ fury

Two years and three months for knife killing deemed not to be ‘unduly lenient’

(Metropolitan Police)

The government has refused demands to re-examine a two-year prison sentence that caused outrage when it was handed to a man for killing his teenage girlfriend.

Relatives of 17-year-old Katrina Makunova had called for the punishment given to Oluwaseyi Dada to be referred to the Court of Appeal.

But the solicitor general said his sentence, of two years and three months’ imprisonment, was not “unduly lenient”.

In a letter to Ms Makunova’s family, Harriet Harman MP and others who demanded a review, Robert Buckland QC said the case did not reach the threshold required.

“I do not consider the sentence imposed to be unduly lenient,” he wrote. “I am satisfied that the judge approached the sentencing in the correct way, and in line with the basis of plea and on the extraordinary facts of this case.

“It would therefore not be right for me to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal. I have written to the family to explain my decision.”

Dada, 21, was jailed after admitting manslaughter in January, and blanket rules mean that he will only serve half his sentence in jail.

The court heard that Ms Makunova died after being pushed by Dada and falling on a knife inside her own handbag, but her family said he had been repeatedly reported for previous physical attacks.

Relatives broke down in Southwark Crown Court as Dada was sentenced, with one family member shouting: “Are you serious? It’s a f***ing joke. She was 17 years [old]. One year for my sister.”

Ms Harman, who was solicitor general under the last Labour government, said “everything is wrong in the reports about this case”.

“This is one of a number of disturbing domestic homicides,” she told The Independent.

“I’m seeking a meeting with the new director of public prosecutions to discuss charging decisions and prosecution.”

Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith called the case “extraordinary” and told the court Ms Makunova died from a single knife wound at a block of flats in south London on 12 July.

“The kitchen knife that caused her death was hers and had, it seems, been brought to the scene by her in a handbag you had given her,” he told Dada.

“It appears that somehow in the struggle between you and her, the blade of the knife was pushed through the bag from the inside and tragically pierced her chest and heart.

“There is no evidence that you ever touched it before she received her fatal injury.”

The court heard that the pair exchanged heated and threatening texts after their two-year relationship deteriorated, including messages from Dada threatening “don’t piss me off”, “cause no-ones been touched u think I am a joke” and “don’t play that game before I stab you”.

The judge said Dada had helped to build up “the tension” ahead of the confrontation at the block of flats where he lived in on Brisbane Street, Camberwell.

“Doubtless you expected that she would be armed and so you did confront her, you grabbed her handbag,” he told Dada.

“In the course of the struggle you took hold of her, pushed her and she fell.”

Oluwaseyi Dada, 21, admitted manslaughter (Metropolitan Police)

Dada was initially arrested on suspicion of murder but subsequently charged with manslaughter as the investigation progressed.

In the months before Ms Makunova’s death, she made several allegations of assault and harassment against Dada to police – most recently on 26 June.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating how police responded to five allegations of assault and harassment before the killing.

Ms Makunova was among 24 victims aged 19 or under who were killed in London in 2018.

The total of 134 homicides recorded in the year was the capital’s highest total since 2008, which saw 154 people killed, and a 15 per cent rise year-on-year.