A violent teenager stabbed an innocent grandfather to death while he was released on police bail just days before the killing.
Rasheed Rahman, who was 19 at the time, was freed twice before he knifed Mark Carroll with a five-inch kitchen blade while the 55-year-old was out on a walk with a friend in London on April 10 in 2024.
The Sudanese national fled the scene - still brandishing the murder weapon - and threatened three other people before police captured him following a 60-minute manhunt.
Back in 2021, Rahman was picked up by immigration officers while living and working illegally in the UK.
He told officers he had arrived in Britain by sneaking onto the back of a lorry from Calais.
Later down the line, he was granted temporary leave to remain until March 2028 after claiming asylum as a child from Sudan.
Three days before the crime, the teen was arrested for allegedly assaulting two people in Camden Town, north London, along a canal path.
A day before before the fatal attack, Rahman was arrested after he was said to have broken into an office in a church using a brick.
The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the days preceding the stabbing
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Despite the persistent offending, officers opted to release the violent man.
On May 27, Rahman was found guilty of Mr Carroll's murder in St Martin's Garden in Camden, as well as having an article with a blade or point and threatening another with an offensive weapon and robbery.
He was not known to the victim.
The Metropolitan Police has since launched an investigation into police contact with the offender ahead of the killing, The Independent revealed.
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Mark Carroll died in April 2024
|METROPOLITAN POLICE
The teen was also known to Romford mental health services and had suffered from drug psychosis due to alcohol and drug misuse, a court heard.
As a result, charities have raised the alarm over mentally ill people going on to commit dangerous and violent crimes.
Charity director of Hundred Families Julian Hendy said: "It is a worrying case. A man was stabbed by a stranger in a London park and it should never have happened."
Before attacking Mr Carroll in central London, Rahman took a kitchen knife from his accommodation, a five-bed property. The removal was logged by the house manager as residents are not permitted to own sharp objects.
The house accommodates young people transitioning from care, as well as those with complex needs. It also houses unaccompanied asylum seekers.
Rahman then used the blade to stab Mr Carroll, whose aorta was severed in the fatal attack.
After Rahman was found guilty, Mr Carroll’s daughters, Ayisha and Danielle, said: "We are relieved that justice has been delivered for our family.
"While nothing can ever bring our dad back, we are grateful to finally have some sense of closure after losing him in such a horrific way."
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Clarke, who led the murder investigation, said: "Our thoughts remain with Mark’s family and friends.
"Mark, who was local to Camden, lost his life in tragic circumstances – though no outcome will ever be enough, we hope today’s conviction offers his loved ones some closure."
A Home Office spokesman said: "Our thoughts are with Mr Carroll’s family and friends at this difficult time.
"All foreign national offenders who receive a prison sentence in the UK are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity, with nearly 70,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals removed or deported since the 2024 election."