Boye and Ram — Murderers in and out of the news

A year ago this week, Lerone Boye was given a life sentence for a knife murder. He has been unlawfully at large since last month.


Convicted murderer Lerone Michael Boye is currently unlawfully at large.

Although you’ve almost certainly heard of Stephen Lawrence, you will probably not have heard of Kelvin Chibueze. At 17, he was a year younger than Lawrence; in August 2011, he was stabbed to death in Ilford after a party.

This led to one then another man being charged with his murder.

Eventually, four men stood trial at the Central Criminal Court, were convicted, and given the mandatory life sentence, each with a heavy tariff. Lerone Boye’s tariff was 28 years, but last month, after being transferred to a secure ward at a mental health unit in Hackney, he escaped. A member of the staff has been charged with assisting him, but Boye is still at large.

This week, the police offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to Boye’s arrest; another £5,000 was soon added by Crimestoppers.

A conspiracy of silence surrounded the murder of Kelvin Chibueze, and it is unlikely Boye could have remained at large this long without similar help.

From a convicted murderer in the news at large to one out of the news and unwanted.

On November 26, 1986, Satpal Ram stabbed an innocent man to death in a Birmingham restaurant.

Two appeals and a referral to the Criminal Cases Review Commission failed miserably because the case against Ram was and remains rock solid. You will find details of this case on the dedicated Ram website, including the full judgments of both his failed appeals.

Guilty and unrepentant Ram may have been, but the persistent lobbying by his supporters paid off, and on June 28, 2002, Ram was released still protesting his innocence.

However, in April the following year a recommendation was made to recall him to prison following allegations of assault and criminal damage. On May 7, 2003, his life licence was revoked though he remained unlawfully at large. On April 18, 2005 he was arrested in London, assaulting two police officers in the process. All of this happened without a whisper from his supporters.


An official mugshot of convicted murderer Satpal Ram.

Finally, on July 23 this year, the sister of his victim - who witnessed her brother’s murder - was informed by the authorities that Ram had been released again, with no fanfare this time. She disclosed this information only last month, and to date neither she nor anyone else has heard anything more about him.

[The above article was first published November 28, 2013.]


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