Man Jailed for Life for Unprovoked Killing of Grandfather in Camden Park

A 21-year-old man has been jailed for life for murdering a grandfather he had never met in a sudden knife attack in a small park in Camden, north London.

Rasheed Abdul Rahman, of Dunmow Close, Chadwell Heath, was ordered on Thursday 10 September to serve a minimum of 27 years for the murder of Mark Carroll, 55. He had been convicted at Wood Green Crown Court in May.

An attack without warning

Police were called to St Martin's Gardens in Camden at 1.37pm on Wednesday 10 April 2024 after reports that a man was unresponsive. Officers found Mr Carroll with a stab wound. He was taken to hospital but died despite the efforts of paramedics and medical staff.

The court heard that the attack was unprovoked. Rahman, who did not know his victim, approached Mr Carroll and stabbed him, causing fatal injuries, before leaving the scene.

Officers located him nearby a short time later and arrested him on suspicion of murder. Detectives then built the case against him using CCTV footage, forensic evidence and accounts from witnesses.

Convictions and sentence

Rahman was found guilty of murder on Wednesday 27 May. At the same trial he was also convicted of three further offences:

• having an article with a blade or point;
• threatening another person with an offensive weapon; and
• robbery.

For those offences he was given four and a half years, to run concurrently with the life sentence.

Murder carries a mandatory life sentence in England and Wales. The minimum term set by the judge is the period Rahman must spend in prison before he can even be considered for release by the Parole Board. He will be freed only if the board concludes that he no longer poses a risk to the public, and if released he would remain on licence, and liable to recall, for the rest of his life.

Rahman was 19 at the time of the killing. The sentencing hearing took place more than two years after Mr Carroll's death and three and a half months after the jury's verdict.

Family tribute

In a statement, Mr Carroll's daughters, Danielle and Ayisha, described him as "a loving father and devoted grandfather". They also spoke of how excited he had been about becoming a grandfather.

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Clarke, who led the investigation for the Metropolitan Police, said he hoped the outcome would give Mr Carroll's family some measure of justice.

The investigation

St Martin's Gardens is a small public garden close to Pratt Street in Camden Town. The attack took place there in the early afternoon of a weekday.

Because Rahman was detained close to the scene soon after the stabbing, detectives were able to move quickly to secure evidence. CCTV from the area, forensic material and witness accounts were then pieced together to show the jury how the attack unfolded.

Alongside the murder charge, prosecutors brought separate counts of possessing a blade, threatening another person with an offensive weapon and robbery, all of which the jury found proved.

Image: Jim Osley via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0