A west London teenager has been jailed for 25 years for murdering 19-year-old Harley Purdue, who he lured into a basement in Kent before stabbing him.
Musa Salih, 19, of Launceston Road, Greenford, was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday after being found guilty of murder last month. The 25-year term was reduced to 24 years and 30 days to account for the time he had already spent on remand.
The attack happened at around 3am on 2 December last year, at an address on Thorold Road in Chatham.
Salih lured Mr Purdue into a communal basement, intending to lock him in a toilet while he stole money from his bedroom. When Mr Purdue resisted, Salih stabbed him eight times.
Mr Purdue’s girlfriend intervened during the attack. Salih tried to injure her before fleeing the house and leaving the Medway area to evade police. He was arrested later the same day in Lewisham.
Detectives who examined Salih’s phone found he had used an AI app to seek legal advice and updates about the incident in the hours after the attack.
“A young man’s family left heartbroken”
Detective Sergeant Alastair Worton, of Kent Police, said the sentence reflected the seriousness of a crime that had left a young man’s family and friends heartbroken and in grief.
“Salih’s plan to steal Mr Purdue’s money in the middle of the night, whilst armed with a knife, has resulted in a man’s death and his own detention for 25 years,” he said.
He added that a swift response to track Salih down in London, followed by a comprehensive investigation, had ensured the jury rightly convicted him for a crime he denied.
“Our thoughts remain with Harley’s loved ones, whose strength and dignity throughout our investigation and the court proceedings has been commendable,” DS Worton said. “I hope today’s sentence brings them some closure and a sense that justice has been done.”
Mr Purdue’s family described him as “the fun, loving, gentle giant that he was”.
The sentencing comes in the same week two brothers were jailed at the Old Bailey over a knife attack at King’s Cross. Kent Police continues to investigate a separate murder inquiry in Feltham, where a man has been arrested.
