Harry Uzoka: London model ‘murdered by less successful rival in row over a girl’
'Koh then added that Uzoka was a bad man and a liar. And so it seemed that admiration for another model and his success had turned to contempt'
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Your support makes all the difference.A renowned male model was stabbed to death by a less successful model in a row over a girl which intensified on Instagram, a court has heard.
Harry Uzoka, 25, died on the pavement outside his home in Shepherd's Bush, west London, after he was knifed in the heart.
The Old Bailey was told that he called George Koh, 24, "a fake" on Instagram and arranged a fight after finding out he claimed to have had sex with Mr Uzoka's model girlfriend, Ruby Campbell.
Their relationship deteriorated after a French model, who had previously been in contact with both men on Instagram, arrived in London in late December last year, the jury was told.
The court was told that to her surprise she learnt that Mr Koh "had something of an obsession" with Mr Uzoka, with whom he apparently no longer spoke to because he had sex with his girlfriend.
"Koh then added that Uzoka was a bad man and a liar. And so it seemed that admiration for another model and his success had turned to contempt," the prosecutor said.
The jury was told a "confrontation" was arranged in Ollgar Road in Shepherd's Bush following a series of phone calls and messages on WhatsApp and Instagram after Annecetta Lafon told Mr Uzoka of Mr Koh's claims.
Prosecutor Richard Horwell QC said Mr Koh, along with Merse Dikanda and Jonathan Okigbo, both 24, were in possession of at least three knives, including a machete on January 11.
Mr Uzoka and his flatmate, Adrian Harper, were armed with dumbbell bars, but they fled when they were confronted with knives.
Mr Harper got away, but Mr Uzoka collapsed on the pavement outside his home after being stabbed in the heart.
"It is not difficult to work out which side won. Uzoka and Harper were outnumbered and bars stand little chance against knives," he said.
"It is the Crown's case that Koh stabbed Uzoka and that Okigbo and Dikanda went with Koh to support and assist him in the intentional infliction of serious harm.
"Their combined desire to overwhelm and cause serious injury is obvious from their combined actions that afternoon,” he added.
“They acted like a team because that is precisely what they were."
The court also heard that Mr Uzoka, who worked with London's Premier model agency, was annoyed by the less successful Mr Koh, who some said looked like him, because he tried to copy him and make contact with his friends.
Mr Koh and Mr Okigbo, who are both from Camden in north London, deny murder. Mr Dikanda, of no fixed address, denies murder, possessing a machete on January 11 and possessing a knife on January 25.
Mr Horwell told jurors: "A murder does not become a more serious crime simply because the victim enjoyed a degree of fame, of course it doesn't, but Harry Uzoka was a well-known and successful model with a very bright future ahead of him and his celebrity status is relevant because it is that very part of his life that brought him into contact with the first defendant, George Koh.
He acknowledged that Mr Koh was also a model, albeit not as successful as Uzoka.
The trial continues.