Northamptonshire Police praise jury for 'seeing through' 'remorseless' killers' self-defence claim in Tommy Boom murder trial

Two 21-year-old men from Birmingham, living and selling drugs in Northampton, have today (Thursday, January 23) been found guilty of murdering Mr Boom last summer.

Following a two-week trial at Northampton Crown Court, and after eight hours of deliberations, the jury of nine women and three men found Daniel Larman and Kieran Okocha-Sleight both guilty of murder.

The family and friends of Mr Boom burst into tears in the public gallery.

His Honour Judge Rupert Mayo said: "You have both been found guilty of murder. There's only one sentence I can pass and that's life imprisonment."

Both Larman and Okocha-Sleight will be sentenced at a later date.

The court heard that the 21-year-old dealers had agreed to meet a homeless crack smoker at Miller’s Meadow – also known as Semilong Park – shortly after midnight on July 18, 2024, to sell her drugs.

However, the court heard, it was allegedly a ‘trap’ set up by Mr Boom to rob the rival dealers as they were ‘easy’ targets and that he had done it before at Dallington Park to Okocha Sleight.

When they arrived at the park, Okocha-Sleight sat next to the homeless woman on a bench, while Larman stood in front of her, when Tommy appeared with another man, a drug dealer named Amazon, and asked what they were doing there.

Larman pulled out a large hunting knife from his waistband, and when Tommy asked him what he was going to do with it and told him to put it down, Larman lunged at him, stabbing him twice – once in the side of the chest which proved to be the fatal blow.

Tommy collapsed, and despite the best efforts of the emergency services, he tragically died at the scene and a murder investigation was launched.

Ten minutes after the killing, Larman and Okocha-Sleight filmed the murder weapon with Tommy’s blood on it with a banner which read “just had to juice a guy up” and sent it to a friend along with a second video of a blood-stained trainer with three laughing emojis.

At about 8.40am that morning, Larman filmed himself walking past the crime scene before fleeing Northampton by train to the Birmingham area, where he told the court that he disposed of blood-stained clothing and the weapon in a West Midlands canal.

With support from West Midlands Police, Larman and Okocha-Sleight were arrested the next day (Friday, July 19) at an address in the Birmingham area, before going on to be subsequently charged with Tommy’s murder.

Despite providing no comment in his formal police interviews, during the trial Larman claimed he killed Tommy – who was reported to be unarmed – in self-defence as he had allegedly previously robbed Okocha-Sleight and thought the meeting was a trap.

However, despite his legal team pleading self-defence, the jury found both men guilty of the murder of Tommy.

Speaking after the verdict, Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell, of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), said: “During this trial both defendants tried in vain to taint the reputation of Tommy, painting a picture that he had been the aggressor and was armed with a knife. This was just not the case.

“We will never truly know what happened on that night, but what we can be certain of is that Tommy was unarmed and was murdered in cold blood by Daniel Larman, who admitted in court to habitually carrying a knife.

“Regardless of the life Tommy led or the circles he moved in, he did not deserve to be killed in such a brutal way and I am pleased the jury saw through Larman and Okocha-Sleight, who showed no remorse as they pleaded self-defence.

“Although today’s guilty verdict may bring some comfort to Tommy’s family and friends, I am sure this will not feel like a win and instead of celebrating the verdict, they would rather have their much-loved son and brother still alive.

“Tommy paid the ultimate price for being involved in the supply of drugs and exposed to the associated violence which goes with it, and two young men will spend much of their adulthoods in prison.

“Then there are their devastated loved ones – family and friends – whose worlds have been ripped apart and lives changed forever - there are never any winners in these circumstances as the impact of drugs and knife crime touches all our lives.

“Finally, I would like to thank Tommy’s family for their unwavering support and the dignified way they have conducted themselves during this trial, as well as all those who have played their part in this investigation, both witnesses and investigators, to help secure these convictions.”