Acton Teen Murdered by Man He was Selling Weapons To
Victor Lee altered his passport to buy crossbow and knives online
Murder victim Victor Lee. Picture: Met Police
June 18, 2024
A man has been found guilty of murdering a teenager from North Acton he threw into the Grand Union Canal after robbing him.
18-year-old Elijah Gookol-Mely, of Australia Road, W12 had met with 17-year-old Victor Lee who arranged to meet him after buying weapons online for resale.
Victor had changed the details on his passport to purchase items including knives and a crossbow. He was described by his family as shy, introspective, easily manipulated and at risk of being exploited by others. The police believe that Victor did not fully understand the harm that others could cause with the weapons that he appeared to enjoy trading.
After he met with Gookol-Mely and two other teenagers he was robbed of his bike and rucksack, stabbed and then pushed in to the canal by the bridge on Scrubs Lane at 5:30pm on 25 June 2023. Although nobody witnessed the stabbing, the court hear testimony that the tallest member of the group had pushed Victor into the canal.
Passersby saw him in the water and pulled him out but, despite the efforts of police officers and paramedics to revive him he died at the scene.
The Met’s homicide investigation, led by Specialist Crime Command detectives arrested Gookol-Mely along with two other teenagers on 30 June 2023. Officers charged each of them the following day with murder and robbery.
Gookol-Mely gloated about killing Victor in his rap lyrics. Picture: Met Police
The team linked them to the murder through extensive analysis of mobile phones and the associated data, as well as CCTV from the area around the crime scene, accounts from witnesses and forensic evidence obtained from the scene and from Victor’s stolen bag discarded nearby.
A knife was recovered from Gookol-Mely’s home address, on which Victor’s blood and the defendant’s DNA was found. Detectives established that robbery was the motive for the brutal attack with Gookol-Mely stealing Victor’s bike and his rucksack, which officers believe contained several knives.
Gookol-Mely was found guilty by a majority verdict on Monday, 17 June of murdering Victor and robbing him following a trial at the Old Bailey. Two other teenagers, aged 14 and 15 at the time of the attack, were found not guilty of murder and robbery following the conclusion of the trial.
Gookol-Mely’s lack of remorse for the killing was shown in rap lyrics he wrote in a notebook recovered from his prison cell in December 2023, while he was on remand awaiting trial.
Gookol-Mely celebrating after killing Victor Lee
The court heard that this contained some handwritten verses, starting, “Everyone on at the 8pm news, ITV, Sky, BBC; Broadcasting the stabbing I done. The people that knew me changed their views. I tried my best to leave no clues. My door got boomed my mum’s confused. No I don’t feel sorry for the yute.’
A later verse includes the lines, “On the phone I’m saying I’m innocent; hop of (sic) the call then laugh in my cell. Aye officer no I didn’t kill him; just stabbed him sent him heaven or hell.”
He will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, 19 July.
Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie, the senior investigating officer who led the investigation, said, “This conviction was the result of a tenacious and thoroughly professional police investigation, supported by a range of specialists and partners including the Crown Prosecution Service.
“However, I would like the focus today to be on the tragedy that Victor’s family have suffered and on the part that young people being able to easily buy knives and other weapons played in his death.
“Victor was a young man who was not directly involved with gangs or criminality - he had an interest in buying, fixing and selling bikes. He had energy and drive but sadly not enough wisdom. His family have told me that he had an inability to properly assess situations, people or threats.
“When Victor crossed paths with the defendant, he took advantage of him and ultimately subjected him to a sudden, unprovoked and shockingly violent assault.
“Having worked so intensely on this case - speaking to Victor’s family and thinking about his life and tragic death - it will forever be a source of regret to me that this vulnerable but independent young man was able to buy weapons online simply by altering the date of birth in his passport.
“Having previously purchased knives, Victor brought a crossbow online in the days before he was killed, and seems to have sold this to his killer at around 3pm on the day of his murder. He was robbed and murdered when seeking to sell knives to him later that day.
“Apparently unable to grasp the devastating consequences of his actions, he probably regarded this as an interesting scheme to make some money. But, having met his killer after arranging to sell the weapons via Snapchat, this scheme sparked the events which cost him his life.
“Victor’ had his life ahead of him and his family have been torn apart by what happened to him. They are understandably still struggling to come to terms with his murder, and the events that led to his death at such a young age. My thoughts are with them today, and I can only hope that today’s conviction can bring them some small measure of comfort.”
Young people with information about violence or knife crime can visit fearless.org where they can pass on information anonymously. Fearless is part of the Crimestoppers charity, and is also independent of the police. They can also provide help or information to support someone who may be involved in knife crime.
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