Two men guilty of lawyer's murder

Carty and Brown were motivated by "greed"

Two men have been found guilty of murdering City lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce, who fought back when he was robbed just yards from his home.

Donnel Carty, 19, and Delano Brown, 18, attacked the 31-year-old in Kensal Green, north-west London, in January.

Mr ap Rhys Pryce was stabbed twice in the chest, the Old Bailey was told.

Carty and Brown reacted calmly to the guilty verdicts, turning to each other, shaking hands and embracing. They will be sentenced on Tuesday.

Trail of blood

The court heard Mr ap Rhys Pryce was walking home from Kensal Green Tube station at about 2300 GMT when he was attacked.

Jurors were told officers found a trail of blood and belongings leading towards the home he shared with his fiancee in Bathurst Gardens.

During the trial Brown said it was Carty who had "fly-kicked" Mr ap Rhys Pryce to the ground then struggled with him.

The murder of Tom, merely for a mobile phone and an Oyster card, was a callous and senseless crime Tom ap Rhys Pryce's parents

The solicitor handed over his property during the struggle, telling his attackers: "You've got everything."

They ran off leaving him dying on the ground as his fiancee, fellow solicitor Adele Eastman, waited for him at their flat nearby.

Their wedding plans, which were in Mr ap Rhys Pryce's possession, were covered in blood and scattered along the street.

The victim's parents said in a statement: "Nothing can bring Tom back to us, but we are pleased and grateful that justice has been done.

"The conviction of Delano Brown and Donnel Carty for the murder of Tom, merely for a mobile phone and an Oyster card (travelcard), was a callous and senseless crime which has devastated the lives of his family, his fiancee and his friends."

Det Insp Teresa Defanis said two dangerous criminals had been removed from the streets.

"With the murder of Tom ap Rhys Pryce, Carty and Brown ended the life of a man with so much to live for," she said.

"Carty and Brown now face lengthy custodial sentences, but I want them to remember that Tom's family and fiancee also face a life sentence without a person that they loved and cared for."

The defendants, both from Sudbury Hill in north-west London, had earlier pleaded guilty to robbing a middle-aged man in Kensal Green station earlier that evening.