A Jamaican man in the United Kingdom was recently sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder he committed after he avoided deportation to Jamaica.
He is 45-year-old Ernesto Elliott.
Reports are that on June 2, 2021, Elliott was involved in a knife fight in Greenwich, southeast London. In a fight over drugs, Elliott and his son Nico, 23, robbed and fatally stabbed 35-year-old Nathaniel Eyewu-Ago.
The incident which was caught on video shows Elliott, his son, and another man lunging with long-bladed knives and a hammer at the victim, who was armed with a machete.
Eyewu-Ago collapsed and later died in the hospital.
After a trial at the Old Bailey last month, Elliott was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 26 years and a concurrent sentence of 12 years for robbery.
His son was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years and a concurrent sentence of ten years for robbery.
Reports are that Elliott was scheduled to be deported in 2020 after being convicted of a knife crime. However, he and 22 other criminals submitted last-minute appeals, including human rights claims. This prevented them from being forced on Jamaica’s strained justice system.
Their appeals came just days after 60 celebrities, authors and other public figures signed an open letter opposing the flight. They included supermodel Naomi Campbell, ‘Line Of Duty’ star Thandiwe Newton, ‘James Bond’ actress Naomie Harris and historian David Olusoga. A host of Labour MPs also added their signatures.
Reports are that after avoiding deportation, Elliott was released within weeks.
