A cowardly killer who stabbed his ex-girlfriend’s dad to death in the street to ‘hurt’ her family after she ended their relationship has been jailed for life.
Kamar Williams, 34, was caught at Notting Hill Carnival after spending a month on the run for murdering bus driver Derek Thomas, 55, in Hackney, north-east London, last July 30.
The Old Bailey heard Williams was ‘simmering with rage’ that evening after arguing with Derek’s daughter Carron Thomas and their family.
Jurors were told he had been looking for Carron and had sent threatening text messages warning: ‘Dumb bitch, talking like you somebody, f**k it gonna show you something, coming to me with that fake confidence, watch this space.’
She had called the police twice in the hours before her dad was killed.
Williams went to Mr Thomas’s home looking for him or his daughter, but neither were in.
As he was driving away, he spotted Mr Thomas walking home on Stoke Newington Common at around 11pm.
Mr Thomas, who had been married for 35 years, had finished a late shift as a bus driver and gone into Tesco for some food before heading home.
Williams stopped the van he was driving in the middle of the road, got out and stabbed the grandfather five times.
Carron said her father was a ‘kind, gentle and loving man’ who ‘did not deserve to have his life taken in such a senseless way’.
In a victim impact statement that was read to the court, Ms Thomas said: ‘What makes this loss even more painful is that the person responsible is someone I shared a relationship with.
Latest London news
- Mother screamed ‘my boy, my boy’ after fire ripped through block of flats
- ‘A real nuisance’ – Londoners have their say on the city’s e-bike boom
- Woman screamed ‘Oh my god’ after man was stabbed to death outside Casino
To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro’s London news hub.
‘My family is broken. We are trying to carry on, but we do so with heavy hearts, we feel our father’s absence in every moment.’
Jailing Williams for life with a minimum term of 29 years, Judge Angela Rafferty KC told him: ‘This was a merciless and determined attack.
‘You killed him even thought at one time you had seen him as a father figure, as you told the jury.
‘You knew how important he was to his wife and children as you had lived alongside them. You knew that targeting him would hurt them all.
‘Mr Derek Thomas had nothing to do with the petty arguments you were having that night.’
She added: ‘I agree with the Prosecution’s case that you picked a soft target. He was completely unaware of your presence until you appeared before him wielding the huge knife.
‘He did not have a chance. You targeted him for revenge because of your own fury.
‘I am sure that to this extent this was a planned and targeted attack motivated by anger and directed towards the Thomas family.’
Detective Inspector John Marriott, who led the investigation, said: ‘This was a brutal and premeditated attack on a much-loved father.
‘Kamar Williams showed clear intent that night, driving to Derek’s home, waiting for the right moment, and carrying out this senseless act of violence.
‘The swift response from our officers, combined with extensive CCTV, forensic work, and determination from our investigation team, led to his arrest and conviction.’ Earlier this month, a jury at the Old Bailey found Williams unanimously guilty of murder and guilty of having a bladed article.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
