Second man jailed after peacemaker stabbed to death in Manchester layby

A second man has been jailed following the fatal stabbing of a peacemaker who was trying to intervene in a heated exchange.

Kevell Blake, 21, has been sentenced today at Manchester Crown Court to eight years for the manslaughter of Badri Issa, 22. At an earlier hearing Raami Mohamed, 22, was sentenced to life imprisonment for Mr Issa’s murder.

Jayne Sharp, Senior Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service in the North West, said: “Badri Issa was an unarmed peacemaker who got caught in the crossfire as he tried to de-escalate a volatile situation and tragically lost his life.

“Far from being remorseful, Raami Mohamed and Kevell Blake fled the scene leaving Mr Issa to die. They further sought to evade justice by disposing of the knife and the car.

“Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of Mr Issa and all those who have been affected by his death.”

Building the case: proving what happened

At 7.45pm on 25 October 2023, Mohamed was driving a white Seat Ibiza with Blake in the passenger seat along Princess Road in Manchester city centre.

When Mohamed spotted a man he had an ongoing dispute with driving a blue Seat Ibiza, he signalled for him to pull over. Both cars stopped a short distance away in a layby on Moss Lane East.

The driver of the blue Seat Ibiza got out and remonstrated with Mohamed and Blake. The passenger from the blue Seat Ibiza, Badri Issa, 22, was trying to calm the situation when he positioned himself between the driver and Mohamed.

Violence erupted and Mohamed stabbed Mr Issa once to the chest whilst Blake punched the driver in the face. The driver saw his friend fall to the floor and called the emergency services.

Paramedics arrived a short time later and found Mr Issa unconscious. He was rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary but despite the best efforts of medical staff, he was pronounced deceased at 8.28pm. The knife had pierced his heart.

As Mr Issa lay on the ground bleeding, Mohamed and Blake got back into their car and drove off taking the knife used in the attack with them. They drove to Broughton Lane where they disposed of the knife nearby and abandoned the car.

In a further attempt to evade justice, Mohamed changed his hairstyle, found somewhere to stay for the night and changed his car insurance policy to a new vehicle.

Police located the abandoned car and found Mr Issa’s blood on a phone charging cable inside the vehicle.

When Mohamed’s phone was examined, it revealed he had searched the internet for details of the fatal stabbing and was aware police were looking for two men in connection with it.

Mohamed was arrested on the evening of 26 October and refused to comment in his police interview.

Blake handed himself in to Ashton Police station four days later on 30 October and he also gave no comment in his police interview.

Following a trial which concluded in May, Mohamed was found guilty of murder and Blake was found guilty of manslaughter.

On 7 June Mohamed was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years. Following a referral to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme on 6 September, Mohamed’s previous sentence was quashed and a new sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years and 145 days was imposed.