Leyton: Man jailed for stabbing fellow hostel resident to death in ‘horrific act of violence’

Mahi Noor, 25, stabbed Abdi Khadar Adan in the neck in the Lea Bridge Hotel, Leyton, following an argument on August 22, 2021.
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A man has been jailed for stabbing a fellow hostel resident to death in a row over text messages.

Mahi Noor, 25, stabbed Abdi Khadar Adan in the neck in the Lea Bridge Hotel, Leyton, following an argument on August 22, 2021.

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Emergency services scrambled to the scene and desperately tried to help Abdi.

He was rushed to hospital but he was sadly pronounced dead shortly after arriving.

Noor and another resident, Kieran McHugh made a sharp exit from the hostel and disposed of the murder weapon.

Mahi Noor, 25, has been jailed for fatally stabbing a fellow hostel resident in Leyton. Credit: Met PoliceMahi Noor, 25, has been jailed for fatally stabbing a fellow hostel resident in Leyton. Credit: Met Police
Mahi Noor, 25, has been jailed for fatally stabbing a fellow hostel resident in Leyton. Credit: Met Police

Noor, of Lea Bridge Road, Leyton was found guilty of his murder on Tuesday following a trial at the Old Bailey.

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He was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years imprisonment at the same court on Thursday.

He also received a consecutive three-year sentence for perverting the course of justice.

Kieran McHugh, 31, also of Lea Bridge Road, Leyton pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to perverting the course of justice and was given a 20 month sentence.

He was acquitted of murder and manslaughter.

McHugh has been and will continue to be detained at a specialist facility under the Mental Health Act.

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The court heard that Abdi moved into the hostel less than a month before his murder, on July 24 2021. Noor and McHugh already lived there and had become close friends.

By August 1 2021, just over a week after his arrival, Abdi was in regular phone contact with Noor, often messaging about cannabis. It was suggested that Noor was possibly supplying Abdi with the drug.

On August 11 2021, tension rose between the pair with Abdi texting Noor telling him to be a man of his word and ‘bust’ his head

The court heard that on August 22 2021, Abdi went into Noor’s bedroom, only to come out six and a half minutes later bleeding profusely after being stabbed through the neck.

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He made it to the hostel reception where he asked the manager to call him an ambulance.

Minutes later Noor and McHugh fled the scene and ran to nearby Manor Road, where McHugh hid the knife in some shrubs while Noor kept watch.

Officers later recovered the knife, which had Abdi’s blood on it and Noor’s DNA.

Kieran McHugh, 31, was given a 20 month sentence for perverting the court of justice. Credit: Met PoliceKieran McHugh, 31, was given a 20 month sentence for perverting the court of justice. Credit: Met Police
Kieran McHugh, 31, was given a 20 month sentence for perverting the court of justice. Credit: Met Police

The defendants walked away and called for a taxi to take them to Victoria Railway Station, with Noor calling 90 seconds later to chase the booking, clearly anxious to get away from the scene.

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McHugh was arrested back at his hostel room on August 32 2021. Noor was arrested two days later in north London on August 25 2021, giving a false name to police. A quantity of cannabis was found on him.

Whilst waiting to be booked into custody, Noor made a comment to officers saying: “Congratulations, I’ve made myself famous.”

He was charged with murder on August 26 2021.

Det Ch Insp Larry Smith, the senior investigating officer from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “It is extremely sad that Abdi lost his life in a horrific act of violence all over some heated text messages.

“Violence is never the answer, and we will robustly target and bring to justice anyone who thinks it is.”