Waltham Forest drug dealer who killed Jay John convicted

A Waltham Forest drug dealer who caused fatal injuries to a man in Hackney has been convicted of manslaughter.

Romayne Husbands, 28, of Winchester Road was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury yesterday (Friday, June 2).

This was after a two-week trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

The court heard how on April 25, 2020 at around 12.30pm, the victim, 27-year-old Jay John, was in Trinity Close.

He was outside the communal door of a block flats when Husbands attacked him.

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Witnesses described the attack as unprovoked – Husbands punched Jay once in the face and then stamped four to six times on his upper body area.

Husbands was arrested a short time later by officers called to the scene.

He was arrested in a nearby flat and found to have discarded 59 grams of cocaine.

Jay was found unconscious but breathing on the floor in Trinity Close.

He was treated by police officers and paramedics at the scene for a wound to the back of his head.

He also had facial injuries including a fractured eye socket and cuts and bruising to his face, lips and jaw.

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The London Air Ambulance attended the scene and Jay was transported to hospital.

Jay died the next day (April 26, 2020) in hospital and a post mortem examination gave the cause of death as head injuries.

A murder investigation was launched and detectives linked Husbands to the scene via blood found on his trainers.

Husbands was originally convicted of murder in June 2021, before the re-trial yesterday.

He also pleaded guilty at the previous trial to a charge of possession with intent to supply crack cocaine.

He will be sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday, June 6.

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Detective Inspector Ben Dalloway said: “This was an extremely violent assault by Romayne Husbands in which he stamped on Mr John numerous times, leaving him for dead.

“I would like to express my gratitude to the members of the public who witnessed the harrowing event and had the courage to attend court and give evidence for a second time.

“Romayne Husbands is a convicted drug dealer which I believe accounts for his presence at the scene on that day and, to some extent, his erratic and violent behaviour.

“Finally, I would like to express my condolences to Mr John’s family and friends, our thoughts are with you.”