Man guilty of murder after young father's stabbing in Hemel Hempstead

David Molloy suffered a fatal stab wound to the heart

Mohammed Khalid, 27, of no fixed address, was convicted of murder on Tuesday, following the killing of 24-year-old David Molloy on March 13.

Luton Crown Court heard that Mr Molloy (pictured) had gone to the address in Saturn Way, Hemel Hempstead, in the early hours after being told that Khalid was there with his partner.

Once he arrived at the address there was an altercation and he was stabbed three times – twice to the lower back and once to the chest, which caused a fatal wound to his heart.

He also had defensive wounds to his arms.

Khalid then fled the address and went to Paul Smith’s flat in Hosking Court, Hemel. While there Khalid changed his clothes before leaving in a taxi, which took him to Luton.

Over the next 48 hours Khalid made plans to flee the country to Pakistan. However, he was arrested in London on March 15 as he tried to obtain travel documents.

He will be sentenced on September 13.

Matthew Eyles, aged 44, who was of no fixed address, and Emma Payne, aged 41, of Eight Acres, Tring, were both found not guilty of assisting an offender.

Paul Smith, 48, of Hosking Court, Maylands Avenue, Hemel, was charged with assisting an offender and intending to pervert the course of justice by giving a false statement to police.

He was found guilty of doing an act tending or intended to pervert the course of justice but was cleared of assisting an offender. He will be sentenced on September 18.

Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins said: “A young father has lost his life due to the actions of a drug dealer who thought nothing of brandishing a knife and using it against another person.

“I would like to commend David’s family and the witnesses in this case who have been supportive of police throughout the investigation to help ensure that David’s killer was brought to justice.”

In a statement Mr Molloy’s family said: “We are happy to have justice for David today but no amount of time will ever bring him back. We miss him every day and we will always have a massive hole where he should be.

“We would like to thank the police and prosecution team for their hard work and support during the last six months.”