Malaciah Thomas murder: Three men sentenced to life imprisonment

Malaciah Thomas murder: Three men sentenced to life imprisonment

Earlier this week Christopher Griffiths and Awez Jamshaid were convicted of murdering Malaciah Thomas and Saif Shahzad was found guilty of manslaughter.

A fourth man, Daniel Roberts, admitted murder partway through the trial.

Today, all four were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court:

Daniel Roberts, Christopher Griffiths, and Awez Jamshaid, were all sentenced to life imprisonment.

Roberts, 20, and Griffiths, 30, must serve a minimum of 25 years, while 19-year-old Jamshaid will serve at least 11 years.

Shahzad, 19, was sentenced to 7 years 6 months in a Young Offenders Institution.

Just before 2am on Monday, July 23 2018, officers were called to reports of a serious assault in the front garden of a house in Corporation Road, Grangetown.

Malaciah Thomas 20, suffered multiple stab wounds and died at the scene.

Speaking after the sentencing at Cardiff Crown Court, Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Gareth Morgan said: “Malaciah Thomas was stabbed to death just two days before his 21^st birthday and our thoughts are with his family and friends.

“This tragic case sadly highlights the devastating and far-reaching consequences of knife crime.

“Knife crime has risen across the UK and unfortunately we are not an exception to that.

“During the early hours of Monday, July 23rd 2018 four young men left an address in Roath and drove to Grangetown.

“Two of them were armed with knives – all four knew the objective was to attack Malaciah.

“Following a thorough investigation and trial at Cardiff Crown Court, they have been convicted and will spend a significant part of their lives in prison.

“The response from the community throughout our investigation was extremely positive and we thank those who have provided information, including CCTV, and showed great strength in coming forward.

“South Wales Police is committed to tackling knife crime by preventing people carrying these weapons and robustly dealing with those we find involved in such criminality.”

Mr Thomas’ sister Ashanti Esekhaigbe read the following Victim Personal Statement at the hearing:

I make this Victim Personal Statement on behalf of my mother and myself in relation to the murder of my brother Malaciah Thomas.

It is impossible to describe the effect that the murder of Malaciah has on my mum and me.

Also, those involved in his murder have taken enough from us and they do not deserve to know how we are feeling. That is private to us and we want to keep those feeling private.

We just want to remember Malaciah as he was, a loving son and brother who was happy and planning his 21st birthday celebrations when he died.

Instead of celebrating his 21st birthday, we were mourning his death. Instead of celebrating my mum’s birthday in August, we were arranging his funeral.

We don’t hate those who caused Malaciah’s death, as they would be in our head and we don’t want to give them any of our time. We have no opinion of them.

All we can say about those who took Malaciah’s life is that they are cowards. Instead of talking to Malaciah one on one about any disagreement they may have had, they have turned up in a group armed with knives, knowing they couldn’t beat Malaciah up any other way. They only had one intention.

Malaciah was not brought up to be a coward and he clearly had no fear for his own safety when he was sat in the car as he had rung Chloe Xuereb, who he considered a friend, as he was worried about her safety rather than his own. He was brought up to defend himself and look after others.

The people who have taken Malaciah’s life have caused a massive ripple effect, not just for Malaciah’s family and friends, but also for their own families. I don’t think they ever thought of the consequences of their actions.

It is not for us to say what we think should happen to the defendants. All those involved know what they have done and they have to live with the part they have played in Malaciah’s death.

Malaciah Thomas CCTV.mp4

Brief Description of content of CCTV Clips

CLIP 12 –Real Time 01:35
A dark Audi A3 is observed to exit a lane, turn right onto Priest Road, travel to the junction of Priest Road and turn left onto Newport Road

CLIP 38 – Real Time 01:50
A dark Audi A3 is observed travelling Holmesdale Street

CLIP 41 – Real Time 01:50
A dark Audi A3 is observed travelling Holmesdale Street

CLIP 43 – Real Time 01:52
Four persons are observed walking along pavement past a Silver Ford Fusion in which Malaciah Thomas is sat.
1st Male Dan Roberts followed by 2nd Male Christopher Griffiths, he is followed shortly by a third Male SaifShazhad, (Thomas is seen getting out of the car as Shazhad passes) the 4th Male is AwezJamshaid.

CLIP 46 – Real Time 01:52 (142 Holmesdale Street)
Dan Roberts observed putting on gloves followed by Christopher Griffiths who fiddles with the waistband of his shorts, SaifShazhad is observed walking by. Roberts and Griffiths are joined by AwezJamshaid. All leave the area.

CLIP 52 – Real Time 01:53
AwezJamshiad and SaifShazhad are seen walking down Holmesdale Street moments later Dan Roberts leaps over a pillar and attacks Malaciah Thomas who is sat in the Silver Fusion vehicle.
Malaciah is observed running away from vehicle and is pursued by Dan Roberts and Christopher Griffiths, he is followed by SaifShazhad. A short time later the Audi A3 travelling in direction of Corporation Road.

CLIP 72 – Real Time 02:02
Dark Audi A3 observed returning to lane at Priest Road with lights off.