Three men have been sentenced for the murder of Taylor Cox in Islington.
[A] Jaden McGibbon, 22 (19.06.01), of Warltersville Road, N19, [B] Robel Michael, 22 (07.06.01), of no fixed address, and [C] Sichem Mangituka-Mpelo, 22 (09.07.01), of Holloway, were found guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday, 20 October.
A fourth person, Dunia Oukili, 21 (28.05.02), of Harrington Square, Camden, was convicted of perverting the course of justice.
On Friday, 15 December all four appeared at the Old Bailey where they were sentenced as follows:
McGibbon was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum term of 26 years.
Michael was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum term of 27 years.
Mangituka-Mpelo was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum term of 26 years.
Oukili was sentenced to two years imprisonment.
Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “This was a targeted attack on a young man who should have had the rest of his life ahead of him.
“It saddens me to see so many young lives cut short by violence on the streets of our capital. The loss of freedom the defendants are about to face, serve as a warning to any others who think that conflict of any kind can be resolved with weapons and violence.
“My thoughts are with Taylor’s family. While nothing can bring him back, I hope that today’s sentencing brings them a degree of comfort.”
Police were called at 16:24hrs on 8 June 2021 to reports of a shooting in Hornsey Rise Gardens, N19. Officers attended along with London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.
They found 19-year-old Taylor, who was from Barnet, suffering gunshot injuries. He was taken to hospital where we later died.
A post-mortem examination 11 June 2021 found he died as a result of gunshot wound to the head.
After shooting Taylor, the suspects fled the scene. McGibbon’s girlfriend, Oukili, booked a hotel room and bought a mobile phone in an attempt to help him evade arrest.
Officers would later find spent ammunition cartridge cases in Oukili’s handbag that was of the same calibre to those used in the shooting.
During the investigation detectives trawled through hours of CCTV footage and found images of McGibbon riding a bicycle shortly before the report of shots fired was made to police, just before the murder he covered his face with a balaclava.
Despite his efforts to avoid capture, McGibbon was arrested on 12 June 2021 and was charged with murder the following day.
Michael was arrested on 4 August 2021 and was subsequently charged with murder.
Mangituka-Mpelo was arrested on 23 August 2021 and was subsequently charged with murder.
As part of a victim impact statement read in court, Taylor’s mother said: “I think about Taylor daily. Every mealtime there is one person missing at our dinner table, there is an empty bed in our home.
“Having Taylor taken from us has destroyed our whole family. We miss him dearly, it has broken all our hearts.”
