Emmanuel Avogo, then 16, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 20 years after he murdered accountant Adam Khan, 26, in a machete attack in Humberstone Road, Luton, on 31 August last year
A teenager who habitually carried a knife has been sentenced to life imprisonment after brutally killing an accountant in a machete attack on a public street.
Emmanuel Avogo, aged 16 at the time, conspired with a 16-year-old girl to “entice” Adam Khan, 26, to a meeting on Humberstone Road, Luton, on August 31 last year. Upon Mr Khan’s arrival, Avogo, now 17, gave chase before withdrawing a machete from his trousers, which he used to hack Mr Khan to death.
Harrow Crown Court heard that Avogo had a history of routinely carrying a blade and possessed an extensive record of previous incidents involving violence and knives. On Monday, Mr Justice Bennathan handed down a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years, following Avogo’s conviction for murder at trial.
The girl – who cannot be named – received a two-year detention and training order after being found guilty of manslaughter at trial.
The judge noted that Mr Khan had been “pestering” the girl for sex and had agreed to supply her with cannabis, prompting her and Avogo to set him up for an assault, though she was unaware he would be carrying a machete, reports the Daily Star.
“By August 31 he had offered to got you some cannabis for some form of sexual favour, and most people would agree this was very wrong”, he said. “It would have serve him right if you two had taken the drugs and run off, but he had done nothing to deserve the terrible violence done to him that day.”
The perpetrators were condemned as “pure evil” and told to “rot in hell” by Mr Khan’s sister on Monday, as the court learnt how the victim had been destined for a successful career as an accountant before his life was tragically ended.
Prior to passing sentence, the judge lifted Avogo’s anonymity as a youth defendant, following a Press Association application to identify him as a deterrent against the epidemic of knife crime.
Emphasising his history of knife-related offences, the judge stated Avogo remains “still in denial” about the murder, “suggesting any hope of reform and rehabilitation is a very distant prospect”. “He frequently carried a knife or machete around the time of the offence,” he continued.
“The seriousness of the offence of which he was convicted and the widespread publicity and concern surrounding young people and knife crime militate in favour of allowing this case to be examined by the press and discussed by the public.”
Prosecutor Kate Bex KC described how Mr Khan became the victim of an “ambush”, after exchanging phone messages with the girl prior to the fatal encounter.
“Both defendants had developed a plan to lure Mr Khan to the scene, and following a confrontation he was then attacked by Mr Avogo”, she stated. “He was attacked using a machete Mr Avogo had stored at his home address, and had been concealed down his trousers.”
CCTV footage of the incident captured Mr Khan walking up to a car and talking to the girl through the window, before Avogo appeared.
Mr Khan initially backed away and drove a short distance with the boy giving chase, but then stopped his vehicle, took a tyre wrench from the boot, and faced up to Avogo.
He suffered five stab wounds – to the face, stomach and arm – during the violent altercation that followed, and later died from his injuries that same evening in hospital. Mr Khan’s mother, whose identity was withheld during proceedings, revealed that her son had started work at 15 following the death of his father in order to provide for his family, describing him as “bright, strong, resilient and caring”.
She made clear her feelings towards the teenage killers: “I hope they meet a fate far worse than what they inflicted on my son.”
In her victim impact statement, Mr Khan’s sister disclosed that her brother was killed just one day before he was due to sit his final accountancy qualification exam, having already secured a role at a prominent financial firm.
“He had so much to look forward to, but that was brutally snatched from him,” she said. She described the teenage killers as possessing “pure evil inside of them”, adding: “My brother’s death will hover over our heads and leave a hole in our hearts for the rest of our lives.”
She concluded: “I pray the harshest of justice is served to the inhumane people who committed this crime. May they rot in hell.”
During proceedings, it emerged that Avogo was a habitual knife carrier who, just four months before killing Mr Khan, had escaped a custodial sentence after stabbing a man with a machete during an e-bike robbery.
The court heard that in 2023, aged just 14, he received a police caution after attempting to push another boy into the road and striking him in the face.
Later that same year, a second police caution was issued following an assault on two fellow school pupils, during which he repeatedly struck one in the face and knocked down a second who attempted to intervene.
Avogo went on to assault a police officer in January 2024, and was subsequently discovered carrying a lock knife in August of that year, at the age of 15.
The e-bike robbery took place in March 2025, when he posed as a prospective buyer responding to a Facebook Marketplace advertisement, attempting to cycle away with the bike during the arranged meeting in Aylesbury.
When the seller blocked his getaway, Avogo drew a 67cm-long machete from his trousers, leaving the victim with wounds to his hand and leg.
He pleaded guilty at Milton Keynes Youth Court to attempted robbery, possession of an offensive weapon, and unlawful wounding, receiving a youth rehabilitation order with a night-time curfew.
Avogo had previously been struck over the head with a hammer in October 2023, requiring brain surgery, and claimed during the trial that PTSD had influenced his response to the altercation with Mr Khan. Mr Justice Bennathan noted that the boy persists in denying responsibility for Mr Khan’s death, insisting he had no intention of inflicting serious injury upon him.
In the aftermath of the attack, the girl searched online for “Luton stabbing” and looked into how to delete an Instagram account. Both defendants waved to their relatives as they were led away from the dock.
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