Hotel staff stabbed to death near his home for second-hand Gucci bag

24 years old man, Tyler Roye was stabbed five times in the back and abdomen by Samuel Odupitan, also 24, in a hysteric attack as he got off a Tram in Croydon on his way home from work. Having boarded the Tram, he entered the same carriage with Odupitan who had traveled from West Croydon.

CCTV footage captured Odupitan watching Tyler with intent, even moving seats to get closer to him, and the detectives believe he was drawn to the bengal tiger adorned Gucci messenger-style bag Tyler was carrying.

Getting to the Arena stop, Tyler alighted the tram oblivious to the fact that he was being followed by Samuel. Within the blink of an eye, Odupitan approached Tyler and stabbed him five times.

Tyler was on the phone with his girlfriend on his way home after a night shift as a hotel staff in east London when he was attacked. He was able to stagger to a friend’s apartment and raise the alarm, but despite being rushed to the hospital, he gave up the ghost on the operating table.

Tyler had been carrying a bag containing boxes of doughnuts for his family. The bag was found close to where he had been attacked. His phone was also discovered, but his Gucci bag was missing.
The injuries he sustained from the stab were extremely deep and one of them was a savage 15cm deep wound through his lung and aorta.

When the officers caught up with Samuel, they found disturbing images of harmful items on his phone such as knives, along with a video of him driving while holding a knife, several messages about exchanges of knives inclusive. In addition, they found images of designer bags he had searched for and been pictured with.

Officers from the MET’s Specialist Crime Command unit launched an investigation and arrested Odupitan who was identified from CCTV footage, on March 1, at his residence. Three officers found not only Tyler’s bag, but also the outfits Odupitan had been seen wearing that night. He tried to claim that the distinctive jacket had been lent to him by a friend, but he was caught out when his ex-girlfriend confirmed that she had bought it for him as a gift.

In addition to Tyler’s murder, Odupitan was convicted of four robberies which he pleaded guilty to at an earlier hearing.

Odupitan appeared at Croydon Crown Court on December 1st, where he was convicted for the attack. He would be sentenced at the same court on December 7th.