Five jailed after man stabbed to death in Leicester
Tributes have been paid to Junior Osborne by his family
Last updated 11th Jun 2024
A group have been sentenced to a total of nearly 50 years for their parts in killing a man in Leicester’s Narborough Road.
Having been identified through extensive CCTV enquiries, they were all charged in connection with his death and convicted last month following a trial at Leicester Crown Court that spanned five weeks.
Today, a 16-year-old boy – who can now be named after reporting restrictions were lifted – was jailed, having been found guilty of murdering Mr Osborne and possession of a bladed article. Nero McLean, of Upperton Road, Leicester was sentenced to life with a minimum of 17 years.
Four others, who were each found guilty of manslaughter and possession of a bladed article, were all sentenced to eight years. They are Nevardo McLean, 16, of Upperton Road, Leicester; Theobald Budzwa – known as Thendo – 18, of Ash Court, Groby; Moises Steiner, 18 of Dovedale Road, Thurmaston; and James Williams, of Pelham Way, Leicester.
Mr Osborne, who was 50, was cycling along Narborough Road when he was stopped and stabbed in the neck, shortly after 9.30pm on 27 September last year. He was taken to the Leicester Royal Infirmary but died around an hour later as a result of his injuries.
An investigation, led by officers from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) major crime team, focussed on gathering CCTV footage that pieced together the group’s movements in the hours leading up to Mr Osborne’s death – as well as the attack taking place:
Detective Inspector Mark Parish, from EMSOU, was the senior investigating officer. He said: “As I’ve previously said, I believe this was a planned and co-ordinated attack to kill Junior.
“Enormous credit and praise must go to detectives in the major crime team for their effort in going through hours of footage to identify the group as well as our uniformed colleagues for their efforts both at the scene and in arresting all involved as enquiries continued.
“Hopefully today’s outcome helps to increase public confidence in Team Leicestershire and the work we do to bring offenders to justice.”
Following today’s sentencing, the family of Junior Osborne have released the following statement:
“Junior was a family man who’ll be missed by all of us. He was born and grew up in Montserrat in the Caribbean and loved his sports.
“He came to the UK in 1997 after the volcano on the island started to erupt two years before, meaning he had to flee his home. He left his family behind and came to the UK to rebuild his life – a life that was cruelly taken away from him.
“While life wasn’t easy, he had a family and children who loved him. He was a smart person who would go above and beyond to help others and made plenty of friends along the way.
“While he wasn’t perfect, he didn’t deserve to die in such a tragic and awful way. He was taken from us in cold blood. The loss of Junior has left a huge void for all of us and a huge hole in our hearts. He was a much-loved husband, father, brother and stepfather.
“His children won’t get to see him again and he won’t get to see his daughter graduate or be able to walk her down the aisle.
“The footage of his final moments has been difficult for us to see. While we’ve got justice for Junior, no sentence is going to bring him back. However, we hope the streets are a safer place now those who took him from us won’t be able to roam the streets any time soon.”