Teen who stabbed university student in the heart while he was on the phone with his girlfriend after falling out over fake Rolex found guilty of manslaughter
A jury at Leicester Crown Court has found 19-year-old Harper Dennis guilty of manslaughter after he fatally stabbed fellow student Khaleed Oladipo, 20, near De Montfort University in Leicester. Dennis was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter, possessing an offensive weapon and failing to provide his phone's PIN, following a two-week trial. Prosecutors said the killing stemmed from a "perceived debt" after the pair, who met through online gaming, fell out over a fake Rolex watch Oladipo had given Dennis to settle the debt.
Dennis stabbed Oladipo five times in the chest on Oxford Street on the evening of 3 February while Oladipo was on the phone to his girlfriend, who heard him ask why he had been attacked; the incident was also captured on a passing motorist's dashcam. Dennis, a first-year student at Leicester University, told the court he had sent Oladipo £6,000 to fund a scamming scheme and, after not being repaid, was given the watch, which jewellers in Hatton Garden later confirmed was fake; he claimed he acted in self-defence after being approached with a knife. He fled the scene, disposed of a bag of clothes via his flatmate, and will be sentenced later on Tuesday, with a detective describing the killing as a disproportionate reaction to "a silly dispute."
- Student found guilty of manslaughter over fatal stabbing near Leicester university
- Row began after a fake Rolex was given to settle a debt
- Victim was on phone to girlfriend during attack; killer to be sentenced
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Khaleed Oladipo and Harper Dennis were fellow students in Leicester who had met through online gaming. Their disagreement concerned money Dennis said he had lent Oladipo and a Rolex watch Oladipo gave him; jewellers later found the watch was fake.
The case was heard at Leicester Crown Court, where a jury considered whether Dennis was responsible for Oladipo’s death and what offences he had committed. The case matters because it involved a fatal attack between young students and a dispute over an alleged debt.