Dealer guilty of killing man who wanted cocaine

A drug dealer is waiting to be sentenced after being convicted of killing a customer when an early-hours cocaine sale went wrong.

Tyreese Kamau, 25, had admitting stabbing 26-year-old Patrice Che with a kitchen knife at a house in Brereton Road, Bedford, in November 2024 but denied murder and manslaughter.

Kamau, of Rutland Road, Bedford, said he acted in self-defence after being threatened.

Jurors found him not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter on Friday after a trial at Luton Crown Court.

Prosecutors said Kamau behaved with "jaw-dropping calmness" after the attack.

They said he had posed with the blood-stained knife and taken a "trophy" photograph of himself.

Kamau denied the allegations and said he had taken the photograph with the intention of showing it to police.

Jurors were told that police found the knife, which was 4cm wide and 18cm long, after Kamau threw it down a rubbish chute.

A judge who oversaw the trial adjourned sentencing until 27 June.

Mr Justice Swift said he wanted a probation officer to prepare a report and consider whether Kamau posed a public danger.

Jurors heard how Mr Che, who came from Bedford, was attacked at the home of an associate.

He died in hospital after being stabbed in the abdomen.

Jurors were told that Mr Che had met Kamau in the early hours in a street and wanted cocaine.

The court heard that the deal "had gone wrong".

Barrister Neil Moore, who led the prosecution team, said Kamau had feared a "set up" and "got aggressive".

He said evidence showed that Kamau had attacked Mr Che with a knife and scissors.

Mr Che died after suffering a 13cm (5-inch) wound.

Kamau's attack was neither reasonable nor proportionate, Mr Moore argued.

"The defendant took the knife with him," Mr Moore told jurors.

"He took a photograph of himself holding it whilst it was still blood-stained.

"He says he was going to show the photograph to the police.

"It is nothing more and nothing less than a trophy photograph."

Kamau told jurors that he decided to leave the property because the situation became "dodgy".

He said Mr Che was holding scissors and stood in his way.

Kamau said he was "terrified" and picked up a knife from the kitchen.

"I am just trying not to get stabbed, not get injured," he told jurors. "In that process, I have lunged."

He said Mr Che "started coming at me swinging" and told jurors: "I swung once with the kitchen knife. I didn't want to stab him."

Detective Inspector Adam Bridges, a member of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: "Violence in any form can have devastating consequences, and when a knife is involved, the potential for tragedy is even greater.

"In this case, Kamau's decision to pick up a knife resulted in the loss of a life and lasting pain for many others."

He added: "Carrying or using a knife is a deliberate choice that can lead to irreversible outcomes, and we are committed to ensuring that those who engage in such violence are held accountable."

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