Two of the men accused of murdering boxing champion James Oyebola have walked free from the Old Bailey after the case against them was dropped.

One of them was Dean Francis of Roehampton, aged 24, who along with Rene McKoy of Battersea was cleared after the judge instructed the jury to enter not guilty verdicts in their cases.

The case against Kanyanta Mulenga, 23, of Putney, south-west London, continues. Cyle Carth, aged 18, of Wimbledon is facing a separate trial in relation to the same incident.

Mr. Oyebola, who was from the Paddington area, had been working with the security team at the Chateau 6 club in Fulham when at 12.55am on 23rd July he was shot in the head and leg. He was taken to Charing Cross hospital but a few days later his life support machine was turned off.

There appears to have been some sort of altercation between three men and security following a disagreement over smoking in the covered courtyard at the rear of the premises. Police believe that James attempted to intervene and assist security when he was shot.

James was known as 'Big Bad' because of his 6ft 9" frame but his friends described him as a gentle giant. Born in Nigeria he represented England in the 1986 Commonwealth Games where he lost to Lennox Lewis. He won 18 of his 23 professional fights before retiring in 1996.

 

September 18, 2008