Tonbridge murder: Two teenagers jailed for fatal stabbing

Two teenagers have been jailed for the murder of a young man in Tonbridge last summer.

Thomas Waugh, 20, was stabbed to death in the early hours of 19 August 2022 after trying to prevent his friends from being robbed.

Rocco Mustafa, 18, faces nearly 19 years in prison while Reece Willis, 17, is due to serve 14 years after they fatally stabbed Mr Waugh in a car park.

The pair were sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on 21 July.

Police said Mustafa and Willis approached Mr Waugh and two friends, who were sat on a bench at Tonbridge Racecourse Park, threatening them and demanding their mobile phones.

Mr Waugh ran away, while Mustafa and Willis robbed his friends of £5 cash, some cigarettes and a gold chain. When Mr Waugh returned, he was holding a stick in an attempt to allow his friends to escape.

As Mr Waugh ran away himself, Mustafa and Willis chased him, catching up with him in a car park where Mustafa stabbed him in the torso, police said.

His friends returned and found a passer-by giving first aid but despite that, and the efforts of the paramedics, Mr Waugh died at the scene.

Mustafa, from Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon, Greater London, and Willis, from Barden Park Road in Tonbridge, were arrested two days later and later charged with murder.

Mustafa pleaded guilty, while Willis was convicted after a trial in April.

Det Insp Neil Kimber said the incident was shocking.

"A young man lost his life due to his concerns for the safety of his friends," he said. "His brave efforts contrast starkly with the criminal actions of two teenagers intent on violence."

"Their appalling behaviour has left a family mourning the needless loss of a much-loved young man with his future in front of him," Det Insp Kimber added.

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