A charity worker who battered a top chef during Notting Hill Carnival then left him dying in the street has been jailed for life.
Omar Wilson, 31, punched and kicked Mussie Imnetu repeatedly as he lay on the ground outside the Dr Power restaurant in Queensway, west London, on August 26 last year.
Mr Imnetu, 41, who had worked under chefs Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing, died in hospital four days later.
The incident happened near the Notting Hill Carnival, which Mr Imnetu had attended and drunk heavily at, the court heard during Wilson’s trial at the Old Bailey.
Wilson – who described himself as a ‘monster’ after the assault – claimed he acted in self-defence but was found guilty of murder.
Sentencing the defendant for life with a minimum term of 18 years, judge Philip Katz said: ‘Mussie and those who loved him are the victims in this case and the impact on them of his murder has been severe.
‘His brutal death on the street was captured on CCTV. The footage was deeply shocking to watch.
‘Mussie was defenceless on the ground when you punched and kicked him to death.
Judge Katz told Wilson he could not control his temper.
He continued: ‘Only a few seconds after punches were aimed by both of you you tripped Mussie and he fell to the ground and you could have walked away.
‘As he knelt you rained further punches down on his head. You could have walked away.
‘However, you stood up, raised your leg and kicked him hard to the head. Kicking someone to the head when they are defenceless on the ground is abhorrent.’
Mr Imnetu’s wife, Linda, described her husband as ‘respected, admired and loved’ in a pre-recorded victim impact statement played in court.
‘Mussie didn’t just leave behind a legacy for his family, he left an indelible mark on his workplace and community,” she said.
‘Nothing can undo what has been taken from us. I ask the court to remember the man Mussie was: his character, his integrity and the life he built; not just the circumstances of his passing.’
A short audio recording of Mr Imnetu’s six-year-old son wishing his ‘daddy’ goodbye was also played, which the judge called ‘heart-rending’.
‘I love you,’ the little boy said. ‘Bye bye daddy’.
A group of Mr Imnetu’s loved ones sat in the well of the court for the hearing, and some cried after hearing his son’s recording.
During the trial, the jury had been shown graphic CCTV footage showing Wilson approaching Mr Imnetu and headbutting him.
About a minute later, Wilson punched Mr Imnetu five times in the head, causing him to fall to the ground.
Wilson – a self-employed director of a charity at the time – continued to punch Mr Imnetu repeatedly while he was on his hands and knees, then kicked him in the head.
The defendant then left and was dropped off outside a London club – the Ministry of Sound.
Mr Imnetu, who worked at the Dubai branch of The Arts Club, a private member’s establishment, was taken to hospital and died four days later without regaining consciousness, jurors heard.
In the aftermath of the attack, Wilson told an associate he ‘crossed the line’
In a message, he admitted: ‘There’s a monster in me, man, and it’s just like sometimes it comes out.
‘And I think I’ve messed up now, I’ve messed up, everything’s finished.’
Asked how the carnival was going, he replied: ‘Can’t lie. I did the hands ting (sic) and I think it’s a manslaughter,’ jurors heard.
