Two 21-year-old men found GUILTY of murder following fatal stabbing of Northampton man Tommy Boom

Mr Boom was fatally stabbed in Miller’s Meadow, Semilong, just after midnight on July 18. Despite the efforts of emergency services, he died at the scene.

Daniel Larman, 21, from Birmingham but living in Kings Heath, was charged with murder and carrying a knife.

Larman shared a flat at Paget House in Kings Heath with Kieran Okocha-Sleight, also 21, who faced murder charges for providing support during the incident.

The murder trial began at Northampton Crown Court on January 7. After two weeks of evidence, the jury began deliberations on the afternoon of January 21.

After eight hours of deliberations, the jury of nine women and three men delivered their verdict at 12.30pm today (Thursday, January 23). They found Larman and 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.

Background

The court heard that Larman and Okocha-Sleight were in business together as drug dealers, selling crack cocaine and heroin to vulnerable people in the town while they both lived at Paget House in Kings Heath.

Tommy Boom was also involved in dealing drugs to a similar community.

According to an eyewitness—a homeless, crack-smoking woman who was with Mr Boom in the park that night—she called Larman and Okocha-Sleight at Boom’s request. Boom planned to rob the two dealers, saying they were “easy” targets.

The court was told that Boom had previously robbed Okocha-Sleight during an incident in Dallington Park a few months earlier.

Larman and Okocha-Sleight were out in the town that night, looking for “desperate” people to sell their drugs to when they received the call from a private number. The eyewitness reportedly “lured them to the park.”

The pair arrived at the park around midnight and sat down with the homeless woman when Boom “jumped” out from behind some trees and confronted Larman.

Larman admitted stabbing Mr. Boom with a hunting knife but denied murder, claiming he was acting in self-defence. Okocha-Sleight was accused of assisting him.

Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC said the stabbing was "severe and intentional" and part of a "ruthless business" linked to drug dealing. He argued that Larman intended to cause "serious injury" at the very least and “gloried” in the aftermath by taking multiple videos to keep as “souvenirs.”

A video created just 10 minutes after the stabbing showed Larman, along with Okocha-Sleight, recording the murder weapon with Boom’s blood on it. Larman later added a Snapchat banner to the video saying, “just had to juice a guy tf up,” accompanied by laughing emojis.

Text messages found on Larman’s phone after his arrest showed him telling a friend, “got my get back x2” and also “I’ll get self-defence.”

Larman’s lawyer, Michael Magarian KC, said his client acted in self-defence after being "lured into the park" and "ambushed" by Mr. Boom, who had a violent reputation.

Okocha-Sleight was accused of knowing violence was likely and supporting Larman.

Chris Henley KC, representing Okocha-Sleight, said his client "did absolutely nothing" and was sitting on a bench during the incident. The homeless woman, a key witness, supported this account.