Murder of Tom ap Rhys Pryce

His ancestry was one well known within the military and among his ancestors was his great-grandfather, General Sir Henry Edward ap Rhys Pryce (1874–1950).

At 13, Pryce won an academic and music exhibition which was later upgraded to a full scholarship at 16 to attend Marlborough College, Wiltshire, England.

There he achieved passes at A-levels in Greek, Latin and English Literature, with three grade As.

Thomas Mervyn "Tom" ap Rhys Pryce (13 October 1974 – 12 January 2006) was a 31-year-old British lawyer who was robbed and murdered by two teenagers as he made his way home in Kensal Green, northwest London, on 12 January 2006.

The two, Donnel Carty and Delano Brown, were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The crime was widely reported for the way in which Pryce was murdered, only metres from his own home, and had only his Oyster card and mobile phone taken from him, but no money (the case being widely reported as an example of steaming).

The murderers were later tracked down when the police examined CCTV footage of where the Oyster card was used after the murder.

The crime caused a political uproar and condemnation of railway station security.

The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust was set up after the murder, and a school was built in his honour.

Tom ap Rhys Pryce was a 31-year-old lawyer who worked for Linklaters, an international law firm headquartered in London.

Pryce was born in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England.

At the age of three, the Pryce family moved to Somalia after Pryce's father, John, a civil engineer, was sent to work there as part of a project to build a sugar factory, there he "enjoyed an idyllic early childhood".

After 18 months they returned home to Hertfordshire before moving in 1980 to the family home in Weybridge where Pryce grew up.

From there Pryce went on to gain a First-Class honours at Trinity College, Cambridge in June 1996, where he read Classics staying on to study for a master's.

Pryce was also known to be a talented musician and lived on Bathurst Gardens, Kensal Green in a flat which he shared with his fiancée Adele Eastman, 31, a solicitor specialising in employment law with Farrer & Co, the Queen's solicitors.

Childhood friends, Donnel Carty, 18, and Delano Brown, 17, had earlier that evening robbed chef Kurshid Ali, a middle-aged man, in Kensal Green station, 20 minutes before Pryce arrived at the station on his way home from work.

Pryce was walking from Kensal Green Tube station at about 23:00 to 23:30, when he was attacked.

According to witness reports, Pryce was running along Bathurst Gardens from two black youths.

According to testimony from Delano Brown, Donnel Carty stabbed Pryce after they had chased him from Kensal Green Tube station where police found a trail of blood and belongings, including a pair of gloves and papers regarding Pryce's wedding arrangements.

As the youths chased Pryce, Carty "fly-kicked" him in the back and he dropped to the floor.

As Pryce attempted to stand up, Carty kicked him in the face.

Trying to get away, Pryce began to fight Carty, as Carty stopped him.

Some time during this Pryce was stabbed twice in the chest and once in the hip, the wounds penetrating vital organs including his heart.

He also suffered cuts to his head, hands and torso.

As Pryce's belongings lay scattered around him, Carty and Brown took Pryce's mobile phone and Oyster card, the only possessions of value Pryce was carrying.

Carty then shouted 'What else have you got?' to which Pryce responded 'Nothing.

You have got everything'.

Carty and Brown then ran off towards Clifford Gardens, heading to Carty's home leaving Pryce dying on the ground.

Pryce was later taken to Central Middlesex Hospital, where he was confirmed dead shortly after midnight.

The scene of the crime which took place along Bathurst Gardens showed the course of events of the violent confrontation.

Pryce's book and gloves were lying outside No 56, a silver Audi car was smeared with blood outside No 82 and a list of wedding venues outside 84.

Pryce was found collapsed in the gutter between parked cars outside No 90.

Carty and Brown were, according to Brown, childhood friends who thought of each other as cousins.

Carty lived with his grandparents in Burrows Road, Kensal Green, and Brown lived with his mother in Rosebank Avenue, Sudbury, northwest London.

Carty had one conviction for assaulting a police officer when he was 16 years old, and a caution for possessing cannabis.

Brown had no previous convictions.

The pair were members of a violent gang calling itself the KG Tribe, taking part in the unlawful wounding of two commuters in December 2005 as well as other robberies.

At the time of the murder of Pryce, Carty and Brown were 18 and 17 respectively.

When both men were arrested on 18 January, Carty said he was innocent of the allegations and claimed he had been in a pub in Kilburn with relatives and friends, and stayed the night at a relative's house.

When police searched his home, they found a pair of trainers that forensic tests showed had a drop of ap Rhys Pryce's blood on one toe.