Murder of Tom ap Rhys Pryce

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Tom ap Rhys Pryce
Born	October, 1974 Broxbourne, Hertfordshire
Died	12 January 2006 Kensal Green, London
Occupation	Lawyer
Spouse	Adele Eastman

Thomas ap Rhys Pryce (October 1974 - 12 January 2006) was a 31 year old lawyer robbed and murdered by two teenagers as he made his way home in Kensal Green, northwest London, England, on the evening of 12 January 2006. The two, Donnel Carty and Delano Brown, apparently showed no remorse and are now serving life sentences.^[1] One of the murderers lived, as Pryce did, in and around the Kensal Green area.

The crime gained notoriety for the savage way in which Pryce was murdered metres from his front door for his Oyster card and mobile phone (the case being widely reported as an example of steaming), leaving trails of his blood from the station to Pryce's home. The murderers were later tracked down when the police examined CCTV footage of where the Oyster card was used after the murder. The crime caused a political uproar and condemnation of station security as well as the policies of the government on crime. The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust was set up after the murder,^[2] and a school was built in his honour.

[edit] Life of Tom ap Rhys Pryce

The last picture taken of Tom ap Rhys Pryce and his fiancée Adele Eastman, on New Year's Eve 2005, in Italy.

Tom ap Rhys Pryce was a 31 year-old lawyer who worked for Linklaters, a leading London corporate law firm. Pryce was born in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England.^[3] At the age of three, the Pryce family moved to Somalia after Pryce's father John, a civil engineer, was sent to work there as part of a project to build a sugar factory, there he "enjoyed an idyllic early childhood".^[4] After 18 months they returned home to Hertfordshire before moving in 1980 to the family home in Weybridge where Tom grew up. His ancestry was one well known within the military and among his ancestors was his great-grandfather, General Sir Henry Edward ap Rhys Pryce (1874-1950).^[5] At 13, Tom won an academic and music exhibition which was later upgraded to a full scholarship at 16 to attend Marlborough College, Wiltshire, England.

There he achieved passes at A-levels in Greek, Latin and English Literature, with three grade As. From there Pryce went on to gain a First-Class honours at Trinity College, Cambridge in June 1996, where he read Classics staying on to study for a masters.^[6] Pryce was also known to be a talented musician^[7] and lived on Bathurst Gardens, Kensal Green in a flat which he shared with his fiancée Adele Eastman, 31, a solicitor specialising in employment law with Farrer & Co, the Queen's solicitors.^[8]

[edit] Events of January 12

Cousins and childhood friends,^[9][10] Donnel Carty, 18, and Delano Brown, 17, both black males who earlier that evening robbed Chef Mr Kurshid Ali,^[11] a middle-aged man in Kensal Green station, just 20 minutes before Tom Pryce arrived at the station from work.^[1] Mr ap Rhys Pryce, 31, was walking home from Kensal Green Tube station at about 2300 to 2330 GMT,^[12][13] when he was attacked. According to witness reports, Pryce was running along Bathurst Gardens from two black youths. According to testimony from Delano Brown, Donnel Carty stabbed Pryce after they had chased him from Kensal Green Tube station where police found a trail of blood and belongings, including papers regarding Pryce's wedding arrangements and a pair of gloves.^[1] As the youths chased Pryce, Donnel "fly-kicked" him in the back and he dropped to the floor. As Pryce attempted to stand up, Carty kicked him to the face. Trying to get away, Pryce began to fight Donnel, as Donnel stopped him.^[13] Some time during this Pryce was stabbed twice in the chest and once in the hip, the wounds penetrating vital organs including his heart. He also suffered cuts to his head, hands and torso.^[12][8][14] As Pryce's belongings lay scattered around him, Carty and Brown took Pryce's mobile phone and Oyster card, the only possessions of value Pryce was carrying.^[12] Donnel then shouted 'What else have you got?' to which Pryce responded 'Nothing. You have got everything'.^[13] Carty and Brown then ran off towards Clifford Gardens, heading to Carty's home leaving Pryce dying on the ground. ^[8][13] Pryce was later taken to Central Middlesex Hospital, where he was confirmed dead shortly after midnight.^[8]

The scene of the crime which took place along Bathurst Gardens showed the course of events of the violent confrontation. Pryce's book and gloves were lying outside No 56, a silver Audi car was smeared with blood outside No 82 and a list of wedding venues outside 84. Pryce was found collapsed in the gutter between parked cars outside No 90.^[15][16]

[edit] Donnel Carty and Delano Brown

Donnel Carty and Delano Brown

Donnel Carty and Delano Brown were, according to Brown, childhood friends since the age of seven who thought of each other as cousins.^[17][11] Carty lived with his grandparents in Burrows Road, Kensal Green, and Brown lived with his mother in Rosebank Avenue, Sudbury, north-west London. Carty had one conviction for assaulting a police officer when he was aged 16 and a caution for possessing cannabis. Brown has no previous convictions. The pair were members of the violent gang called the KG Tribe, taking part in the unlawful wounding of two commuters in December 2005 as well as other robberies. At the time of the murder of Pryce, Carty and Brown were 18 and 17 respectively.^[11] When both men where arrested on January 18 Carty said he was innocent of the allegations and claimed he had been in a pub in Kilburn with relatives and friends, and stayed the night at a relative's house. When police searched his home, they found a pair of trainers that forensic tests showed had a drop of Mr ap Rhys Pryce's blood on one toe.^[18] DNA from several people, including Brown, were found on the trainers. Officers also found a top with traces of Brown's DNA and fibres found on Mr ap Rhys Pryce's overcoat were microscopically indistinguishable from the material of that top. Brown also said he had been in Kilburn the night of the murder and initially claimed that he had nothing to do with either the robbery of the other man or the robbery and murder of Mr ap Rhys Pryce. When the other victim's (Mr Ali) mobile was discovered at his home, he claimed he had bought it from two men.^[18] Detectives also found that Brown had hoarded press cuttings of Pryce.^[19]

In a separate incident, Lloywen Carty, 25, cousin of Donnel Carty was found guilty of murdering a Jamaican man, Lee Subaran at a party following the Notting Hill Carnival in August 2004 and is now facing life imprisonment. Mr Subaran, 27, was shot dead at point blank range for "showing disrespect" to members of a Harlesden gang, "Mus Luv Crew". Five other men have been convicted in connection with the murder.^[20] Lloywen and Donnel both lived together with their grandfather in Burrows Road, Kensal Green.^[21]

[edit] Trial of Donnel Carty and Delano Brown

Police caught Carty using CCTV footage showing him using Pryce's Oyster Card (which he claimed to have found) at Kensal Green station, forensic evidence found at the homes of Carty and Brown, and Pryce's mobile phone.^[14] When they were taken to court Donnel Carty and Delano Brown both denied murdering the City lawyer but admitted they had robbed Pryce and another man just before. Delano Brown was 17 when taking part in the murder so initially could not be named for legal reasons.^[22] The two men stood trial on 30 October 2006 at the Old Bailey. Throughout the trial Brown declared that it was Carty who had stabbed Pryce and that it had simply been a 'robbery gone bad'. This led to an alleged attack on Brown by three youths at Feltham young offenders institute during the Old Bailey trial, his attackers said: "You are snitching on your co-d (co-defendant)." Carty denied any involvement in the incident, claiming it had been the result of an argument Brown had with the youths earlier.^[23] On November 27, 2006 Donnel Carty and Delano Brown were found guilty of murdering City lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce.^[12] Carty and Brown reacted calmly to the guilty verdicts, turning to each other, shaking hands and embracing.^[12] On November 28, 2006 the sentences for Carty and Brown were announced by the Old Bailey trial judge. Both men were sentenced to life imprisonment with the trial judge recommending that 19-year-old Donnel Carty should serve a minimum of 21 years, and 18-year-old Delano Brown should serve at least 17 years.^[24] The judge said he could not tell who wielded the knife but considered Carty and Brown equally guilty.^[24] The pair reportedly fought back tears and sniffed loudly as the sentences were read.^[11] The High Court later ruled that Brown should serve a minimum of 20 years. ^[25]

[edit] Reaction

Prime-minister Tony Blair's response to the murder was pledging to investigate safety at the station close to where Tom ap Rhys Pryce was murdered,Kensal Green Station.^[26]

Balbir Mathura

David Cameron at the time leader of the Conservative party spoke out against the Labour Government's lax criminal justice system and the absence of father-figures as causes in the murder of Pryce. Cameron stated that lack of strong deterrent sentences for knife crimes and the failure of police to stop prolific criminals had played a role in the killing of Pryce. He insisted that parental background had a key role in preventing crime and called for zero tolerance of knife crime, claiming that not enough criminals were being sent to jail.^[27]

In January 2006 Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair created considerable controversy when he described the media as institutionally racist.^[28] This accusation had also been levelled at the police for their allegedly unbalanced coverage of crimes black on white crimes, such as this murder, as compared to that given to crimes against ethnic minorities.^[29] The example Blair cited was that of Balbir Mathura, an Asian man murdered on the same day as Pryce. Mathura was run over and dragged almost 40 metres by a car driven by thieves he had disturbed as they broke into a van parked outside his workplace. Newspapers argued that the number of stories printed regarding the two victims were similar, though a survey of national newspapers after the two murders showed that longer and more in-depth articles were written about the murder of Pryce than Mathura.^[29]

[edit] Legacy

Kensal Green Station, left with no security during evenings.

Following the murder of Tom ap Rhys Pryce, his friends and family set up the The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust to enable individuals, who could not otherwise afford it, to achieve their potential by gaining access to appropriate educational facilities.^[2] It aims to raise at least £1million to help educate society's poorest children.^[30]

This incident sparked a major public discussion on station safety and security, mainly because the station was un-staffed when the suspects mugged Ali on the platform. The only security present was CCTV cameras, and the ticket barriers were left open allowing the suspects to enter the station freely. Many high-profile politicians spoke on the issue of station safety and called on train companies to provide security or staff the station until the last train had left the station. The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, became personally involved in this, and publicly attacked Silverlink, the train company who manage the station, for not providing all-night staffing or security. The new provider of every franchise across the rail network will have to provide staff at all time the station is open.^[31]

A school is to be built in Vietnam in memory of Tom ap Rhys Pryce. Pryce's colleagues raised enough money to have the school built to leave a lasting legacy in his honour. The primary school is expected to open in 2007. Its cost is being met by the Hong Kong office of Pryce's employer, Linklaters.^[32]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust
• Linklaters tribute to Tom ap Rhys Pryce