A London court has sentenced a 36-year-old man to life imprisonment for fatally stabbing his friend during a dispute over money, after rejecting his claim that he acted in self-defence.
The Metropolitan Police said Fawaz Abdulkareem was found guilty of murdering 32-year-old Daniel Manuel following a violent confrontation at a flat in Bondway, Vauxhall, South London.
According to police, the incident stemmed from an argument over a debt allegedly owed by Abdulkareem.
The dispute escalated shortly after the two men returned from a nightclub, culminating in a fatal attack.
A statement issued by the Metropolitan Police on Saturday disclosed that a jury at Croydon Crown Court unanimously convicted Abdulkareem of murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place on May 21, 2026.
The court subsequently sentenced him on June 5 to life imprisonment, with a minimum custodial term of 17 years.
Investigators revealed that officers swiftly identified Abdulkareem as the prime suspect and arrested him at the scene before charging him the following day. Detectives further alleged that he attempted to obstruct the investigation by disposing of the knife used in the attack, throwing it from a 14th-floor window, and falsely claiming that the victim had been the aggressor.
The lead investigator, Detective Inspector Luke Hampton, described the killing as a tragic act of violence committed against a trusted friend.
He said Manuel had been murdered by someone he considered a friend and noted that the convict’s efforts to mislead investigators ultimately failed.
“Met detectives saw through his lies and worked hard to secure a conviction. Abdulkareem’s claims of self-defence were dismissed by the jury,” Hampton said.
In an emotional victim impact statement, Manuel’s wife, Zulal, said her husband’s death had devastated every aspect of her life.
She described him as her partner, source of comfort and the person with whom she had built her future, adding that the violent and sudden loss had left her struggling to cope emotionally, physically and financially.
Police said officers responded to an emergency call in the early hours of the incident and found Manuel in the building’s lobby suffering from three stab wounds. Despite immediate first aid and efforts by paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives told the court that forensic and witness evidence suggested the victim was likely attacked while his back was turned, a finding that contradicted Abdulkareem’s account that he acted in self-defence.
The conviction and sentencing bring to a close a case that investigators described as a senseless killing triggered by a disagreement over money.