A Portuguese man living in London was stabbed to death on July 21st last year.
Bradley Quaresma was knifed at the packed West Ham Lane Recreation Ground in front of horrified families.
Members of the public, including a trained nurse, rushed to Mr Quaresma’s aid, before an air ambulance arrived, but despite the best efforts of medics who battled to save his life, the victim was pronounced dead just before 3.40pm.
Mr Quaresma's family later described him as "a smart guy with a big heart." His relatives said: “Bradley was a very friendly person. He was always keen to help others and the happiest person we have ever met.”
A suspect was picked up by French police in Paris. Mario Te had fled to the French capital on a Eurostar train.
Te had caught the service from St Pancras international station the morning after Quaresma was killed, but was arrested in Paris and returned to the UK within 24 hours of the stabbing.
Mario Te has been up before a judge and jury at the Old Bailey charged with murder but insisted he was acting in self-defence. Te was cleared of murder but convicted of the alternative charge of manslaughter by a jury after more than 12 hours of deliberations.
During the trial, jurors were shown CCTV footage of a topless Te throwing his knife into a bush as he fled the West Ham Lane Recreation Ground.
One eyewitness, who was walking through the park on the afternoon of July 21st last year, saw a group of black Portuguese youths. One was holding a knife in his right fist raised above his shoulder, he said.
Prosecutor Alan Kent QC said, “Suddenly, the male with the knife hit the other one in what the witness describes as a downward motion with the knife going into the chest of the other one.
“The person who had been stabbed then dropped to the ground and the one who was holding the knife appeared to freeze, perhaps in shock.
“He then turned and walked away before picking up the pace and running towards an alleyway.”
A retired man witnessed a similar scene before running to the victim’s assistance, while police were alerted at around 3.15pm.
‘Police officers arrived very quickly, while a medical team, including a doctor, arrived by helicopter,’ said the prosecutor.
‘They did all they could to try to save his life but unfortunately, despite all of their efforts, Bradley’s life could not be saved and he was pronounced dead at the scene just before 3.40 that afternoon.’
Te, of no fixed address, was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on Friday, February 10th.
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Mario Te later was sentenced to eleven and a half years in prison for manslaughter.
