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Andre Bent murder trial: Vasilios Ofogeli, 17, found guilty of murder and attempted murder in Maidstone

A teenager has been found guilty of murdering Andre Bent after a rap concert in Maidstone.

The boy, who can now be named after reporting restrictions were lifted, is 17-year-old Vasilios Ofogeli, and was also found guilty of two other attempted murders and another charge, wounding with intent.

Vasilios Ofogeli, 17, has been found guilty of murder and attempted murder
Vasilios Ofogeli, 17, has been found guilty of murder and attempted murder

He knifed Joshua Robinson, Patrick Conceicao and Lucas Baker, creating mayhem on the streets of the town.

Then Ofogeli, now 17, from London, plunged the weapon into Mr Bent, a London's South Bank University student, before trying to get a lift with rapper MoStack, real name Montell Daley, on August 25.

During his trial the teenager was allowed to remain anonymous because of a court order.

But a jury at Maidstone Crown Court today took just under 12 hours to convict the smirking Ofogeli of murder, two charges of attempted murder and one of wounding with intent.

He will now be given a sentence which will keep him locked up for a long time in an institute for young offenders.

Watch: Vasilios Ofogeli is arrested by Kent Police

Mrs Justice Cutts told him she will set the minimum time he will serve before he can be considered for parole.

Two others, Ryan Lowe-White and Ali Aziz were cleared of wounding with intent and will be sentenced with Ofogeli in April after they had earlier admitted a charge of violent disorder.

Others who took part in the frightening incident outside the Gallery Nightclub in Bank Street, described by one witness as a 'Royal Rumble' will also be sentenced after they pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

Prosecutors Philip Bennetts and Jennifer Knight, both QCs, had revealed details of the "spontaneous outbreak of violence" which followed the MoStack event.

The rapper left the concert at 3am and so did Ofogeli, who had travelled down with pals from his home in London.

Vasilio Ofogeli has been found guilty of Andre Bent's murder
Vasilio Ofogeli has been found guilty of Andre Bent's murder

The jury heard how the teenager armed himself with a knife, put a jumper over his head to disguise himself, and then launched a serious of terrifying attacks.

A knife - which was shown to the jury - was found near Ofogeli's home in north London.

It was discovered by officers at the back of the house near a gate and had a blade measuring nine inches long with two cutting edges.

The teenager tried to claim he did it to defend his friends who he claimed were being attacked by people with a belt.

But after watching video footage the jury concluded he tried to murder Mr Baker and Mr Conceicao and then wounded Mr Robinson intending to cause him serious harm.

His last victim was Andre Bent, who had been celebrating a friend's birthday and died from his stab wounds just 40 minutes after the vicious attack.

Meanwhile Ofogeli was trying to get a lift with the rapper, but MoStack, who had twice urged the teenager to leave the scene before the stabbings, shut his car door on him.

Instead, he later made his way to an airport in an attempt to evade justice.

But Kent Police arrested him on his return to the UK - and then painstakingly pieced together all of the CCTV footage.

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Patrick Milford of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said: "Andre Bent was a popular and much-loved young man with his whole life ahead of him, but his future was cut short by Vasilios Ofogeli in the worst way imaginable.

"Ofogeli and his friends had travelled to Maidstone from their home in London and brought with them a level of violence that we do not tolerate here in Kent. There is no excuse for anyone to go out while armed with a knife or to cause such serious harm to others, and we relentlessly pursue those who do to ensure they are brought to justice.

"This was a fast-paced investigation that demonstrates our commitment to ensuring justice for Andre’s family most importantly, but also for the people of Maidstone who were shocked and appalled by what happened that night. Thankfully such incidents are rare and our officers work hard on a daily basis to ensure it stays that way.

"The callous and random nature of the knife attacks committed by Ofogeli on Andre and three other men are deeply troubling and paint a picture of a young man who thinks nothing of attacking others with a deadly weapon. He is fully deserving of the lengthy prison sentence he will now have to serve.’

To read more of our in depth coverage of all of the major trials coming out of crown and magistrates' courts across the county, click here

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Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone

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