Man who killed Kensington Palace gardener jailed for life
Ricardo Clarke was attacked in 2024
A man who stabbed to death a gardener who worked for the Royal Family, has been jailed for at least 27 years.
30-year-old Elyas Moussa attacked Recorda Davey-Ann Clarke, otherwise known as Ricardo, in Willesden in north London, while he was celebrating his girlfriend's birthday in December last year.
The court heard that what began as "friendly chit chat" between Mr Clarke and his partner and Elyas Moussa's group turned into a series of confrontations between the two men after Mr Clarke turned Moussa's baseball cap backwards.
Moussa, 30, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to possession of a knife and was convicted of murdering Mr Clarke, earlier this month following a two-week trial at the Old Bailey.
Judge Usha Karu said: "The fact is that when you went back to Linacre Road you were armed and you knew it.
"You instigated the violence there by chasing him and you took the knife out after Ricardo Clarke had either been pushed by you or he tripped and went to the ground.
"He did not really pose any danger to you at that time, quite the opposite, it made him vulnerable to attack by you."
Of father-of-two Mr Clarke, she said: "He was working as a gardener at Kensington Palace having applied for a gardening apprenticeship and beaten 500 others to secure that position.
"He took great pride in his job.
"He was part of a close-knit, loving family. The very moving victim personal statements of his brother, sister, nieces, cousins and friends have been read today.
"They are grieving for someone who was very much part of their lives and closely bonded to. He had a good sense of humour, was fun-loving, caring, strong and resilient and always there for those he loved."
More than 10 victim personal statements were read out by the prosecution in court on Wednesday.
The mother of Mr Clarke's children, Lori-Jane Forrest, said she finds herself "crying uncontrollably throughout the day".
"I was Ricardo's best friend, love of his life and even his enemy at times but he was my person," she said.
"He was my support system in many ways but he is gone now and we will have to fill the emptiness of no longer having our person, our provider, our protector."
She said her children's lives have been "destroyed" and their home "torn apart" by Moussa's actions.
The judge accepted that Moussa did not intend to kill Mr Clarke and that the murder was not premeditated or planned.
She handed him a concurrent sentence of 12 months in prison for possessing a knife.
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