George Koh was obsessed with Harry Uzoka and stabbed him outside his west London home

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A man has been jailed for at least 25 years for stabbing a more successful modelling rival to death.

George Koh, 24, murdered Harry Uzoka, 25, on 11 January after a row over a woman.

He was accompanied by two friends – Merse Dikanda, 24, who was armed with a machete, and Jonathan Okigbo, 24, a personal trainer.

Koh stabbed Uzoka in the heart. He collapsed and died on the pavement outside his home in Shepherd’s Bush, west London.

The two men decided to meet to settle a dispute after a row on Instagram. Koh had turned up armed with two knives, while Uzoka had equipped himself with a dumbbell bar. CCTV footage showed the confrontation took place in broad daylight in an area where children were playing.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest George Koh. Photograph: Metropolitan police/PA

Koh denied murder and claimed he was carrying two knives because he was fearful for his safety. He said it was Uzoka and his flatmate who first revealed their weapons, adding that he was forced to react in self-defence. But last month, a jury at the Old Bailey in London found Koh guilty of murdering Uzoka.

Sentencing on Friday, the judge, Wendy Joseph QC, said: “The loss of any life is tragic, the more so when a victim is so young, able and generous.

“Harry Uzoka was a young man of exceptional talent, who overcame his own difficulties to make a great success of his young life and to be a remarkable role model for others.

“Harry Uzoka had forged a successful international career as a male model. He was one of the first black British men to do so.

“He was generous with his time and enjoyed helping others like him to do the same. Among those was George Koh.”

Koh was obsessed with Uzoka, who had modelled for GQ, Mercedes and Zara, and recently landed a film role, the court was told. The relationship between them soured after Koh bragged to the Paris-based model Annecetta Lafon that he had had sex with Uzoka’s girlfriend, Ruby Campbell, who is also a model.

While Campbell did not testify at the trial, she said in an Instagram post that she had never met Koh and claimed she had received “multiple death threats” because of the case.

Dikanda, from Camden, north London, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 22 years after he was found guilty of murder and possessing knives. Okigbo, of no fixed address, was jailed for 14 years after he was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter.

Tarika Jayaratne of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This was a senseless murder over petty jealousy. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Harry Uzoka and we hope that today’s sentencing brings them a sense that justice has been done.”

Josephine Jackson, Uzoka’s mother, paid tribute to her “beautiful boy” in a victim impact statement.

“Your short life enriched the lives of so many. You inspired so many people and touched them with your love. You will never be forgotten, my wonderful boy,” she said.

“His departure has left a gaping hole, a void and a crack in the family. We are all still finding it very difficult to cope with.”