Ghanaian stabbed to death in London in front of daughter

A man is being questioned by police after a father was stabbed to death in front of his young daughter as they travelled to visit his newborn son.

The 26-year-old victim was stabbed in Croydon, south London, while they were on their way to nearby Mayday Hospital where his wife had given birth.

The three-year-old daughter who watched paramedics try to save her father was unharmed but was said to be “in shock”.

A 22-year-old man later handed himself in at a south London police station.

He is being held on suspicion of murder.
Security guards at a nearby office described how they took the little girl away.

'Eyes wide open'
One staff member said: “I said she shouldn't be watching something like that, I asked around to see whose child she was and somebody said she was the victim's, so I took her away into our building.”

He said that the three-year-old was “in shock, her eyes were wide open”. She was muttering under her breath occasional words like “mum” and “Mayday”.

Det Ch Insp Cliff Lyons appeals for witnesses
The victim, who is originally from Ghana, was taken to Mayday Hospital where he was pronounced dead an hour later. He had been stabbed in the heart.

Det Ch Insp Cliff Lyons described the murder outside a Lidl supermarket in London Road on Thursday evening as “particularly tragic”.

He said some witnesses had come forward but detectives wanted to talk to two teenage boys who were at the bus stop when the stabbing took place.

He said: “They are described as black, aged between 15 and 20 years old, of slim build and wearing hooded tops.”

Mr Lyons said officers were still trying to find out if the man had seen his newborn son before he died.

He said London Road, where the incident occurred, was “one of the busiest roads in the area”.

Officers have found a number of knives in the area and were also reviewing CCTV footage from a number of cameras.