Stelios Averkiou murder: Kyi-Reice Sylvester jailed for killing teenager who resisted during Haringey robbery

A teenager has been jailed for murdering a 16-year-old who stood up to him during a robbery.

Stelios Averkiou was sat on a bench with two friends in Lordship Lane Recreation Ground in the summer of 2021 when Kyi-Reice Sylvester and Leon Gruber, both now 18, approached, asking whether they were from a rival gang.

When they set about robbing them, Stelios resisted and was stabbed in the thigh by Sylvester who was armed with a large knife. Stelios died nine days later.

On Friday at the Old Bailey, Sylvester, of Flamstead End Road Cheshunt, was sentenced to 19 years in prison, having previously been found guilty of murder.

He was given a further four years, to be served concurrently, having pleaded guilty to four separate counts of burglary.

Leon Gruber, of Amersham Avenue, in Haringey, was acquitted of murder. He had previously pleaded guilty to four separate counts of robbery and was sentenced to 34 months in prison.

Stelios’s mother, Maria Averkiou, said: “My family has been ripped apart by an act of senseless violence. Stelios was doing nothing wrong. He was a 16-year-old boy with his friends in a park. I cannot begin to understand how one person could do that to another. Our hearts are broken.”

On August 1, 2021, the emergency services were called to the recreation ground at shortly after 2pm.

Met Police officers found Stelios bleeding heavily from an upper leg wound that was around eight inches long and four inches wide.

Officers cut away his clothes and applied a tourniquet, and when air ambulance paramedics arrived they performed emergency surgery.

The efforts were initially successful and Stelios made it to hospital for treatment, but he died on August 10, having never recovered consciousness.

When detectives examined CCTV footage, they saw the defendants approaching the scene and then fleeing afterwards, with Gruber riding a bike that belonged to one of the Stelios’s friends.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Rawlinson said: “Tragically, another young life has been cut short by people who carry knives.

“Stelios’s family has been through hell, from the moment the attack took place, through his time in hospital, his death and concluding with the trial.

“It is my sincere hope that his loved ones find a measure of comfort in this sentencing. My thoughts are with them.

“I would like to thank the members of the public who came forward to help us with this investigation. We understand how frightening it must be to witness an incident of this nature but the public’s help is essential to keep our communities safe and we have special measures we can use to help protect the brave people who come forward.”

Detective Superintendent Seb Adjei-Addoh, from the North Area Command Unit, that covers Haringey, said: “I extend my heart-felt condolences to the family of Stelios Averkiou. This was a completely senseless killing. Incidents such as this highlight why knife crime is a priority for the Met, and why we are working tirelessly alongside our partners to bring those who carry knives on our streets, to justice.”