Seven men sentenced for the murder of Luke O’Connell

Luke, who was 26, died in hospital following an incident on Gammons Lane, Watford, which occurred just before 3am on Saturday 31 August.

The men were found guilty following the seven week trial at Reading Crown Court.  

The court heard Luke was a back-seat passenger of a VW Golf being driven by another man. The pair had an ongoing dispute with a group of men which came to a head on this night.

A car chase ensued which resulted in the collision.

The group of men are said to have used weapons to attack the VW Golf and the men inside.

Luke was stabbed and suffered a wound to the chest which proved fatal. The second man was also assaulted and stabbed.

Eight men were arrested and charged with various offences, which they all pleaded not guilty to.

• Shahnavaz Azad, aged 29, from Watford was found guilty of murder and section 18 assault. He was sentenced to life with minimum 27 years, plus five years concurrent for the assault.

• Hamza Azad, aged 24, of Nicholas Close, Watford was found guilty of murder and section 18 assault. He was sentenced to life with minimum 22 years, plus five years concurrent for the assault.

• Aamir Mustafa, aged 24, of St Georges Road, Watford was found guilty of murder and section 18 assault. He was sentenced to life with minimum 22 years, plus five years concurrent for the assault.

• Mohammed Haroon Azad, aged 23, of Nicholas Close, Watford was found guilty of manslaughter and section 20 assault. He was sentenced to nine years for manslaughter, plus two years concurrent for the assault.

• Mohammed Hamza Shah, aged 21, of Hagden Lane, Watford was found guilty of manslaughter and section 20 assault. He was sentenced to nine years for manslaughter, plus two years concurrent for the assault.

• Umar Sarfraz, aged 23, of Whippendell Road, Watford was found guilty of manslaughter and section 20 assault. He was sentenced to nine years for manslaughter, plus two years concurrent for the assault.

• Mohammed Raja Azad, aged 50, of Nicholas Close, Watford was found guilty of perverting the course of justice. He was sentenced to 28 months.

Luke’s family have issued the following statement: “Losing Luke has devastated our family as well as his friends, who called him Peanut.

“He was the joker of the pack and we all miss him every second, of every day.

“As a family we would like to thank Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins and her team and QC Miss Bex and her junior Mr Bisgrove for all their hard work and support over the past two years.”

* Four other people are due to appear at court at a later date in connection to the incident.

Ella Layton-Hughes, aged 21, of Brighton Road, Watford is charged with perverting the course of justice and assisting an offender.

Mohammed Saddique, aged 33, of St Georges Road, Watford is charged with assisting an offender.

Omar Chohan, aged 27, of The Harebreaks, Watford, is charged with assisting an offender.

Talha Chohan, aged 26, of Beech Road, Watford is charged with assisting an offender.