A Somali asylum seeker has been sentenced to life with a minimum of 25 years for the unprovoked murder of a father-of-three in a Derby bank. Derby Crown Court jailed Haybe Cabdiraxmaan Nur, 47, who stabbed Gurvinder Singh Johal to death on May 6 while the victim queued to withdraw money for his restaurant staff.
CCTV captured the attack at the Lloyds Bank branch, which lasted just 22 seconds. Nur had contacted the charity Migrant Help less than two hours before the killing, threatening to kill "500 people" including "doctors, police or people working at the Home Office."
Paramedics pronounced Johal, 37, who owned the Hen and Chickens restaurant, dead at the scene after Nur stabbed him once in the chest with a kitchen knife. He left behind three young children aged five, three, and one.
Judge condemns 'brutal act'
Judge Shaun Smith KC described the murder as a "brutal and callous act" at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday. "It was a real-life horror film for everyone connected to Mr Johal and everyone who had the misfortune of witnessing your wicked act," he said during sentencing.
The judge emphasized the random nature of the attack, noting that Nur had randomly selected his victim, a man he had never met before. Johal was reportedly on a FaceTime call with a friend when Nur stabbed him, with witnesses hearing him ask "why?" as Nur calmly walked away.
Failed asylum seeker's background
Nur arrived in the UK illegally via small boat in late 2024, paying 400 euros for the journey. The Home Office rejected his asylum application because officials deemed he had arrived "voluntarily," though he was appealing the decision at the time of the murder.
Police knew him across Europe, with convictions in Italy for robbery and assault, and authorities in Germany, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg knew him for various offenses including theft and public order disturbances.
Family's devastating impact
Johal's family described their "unbearable pain" in a victim impact statement read to the court. "Our lives didn't just change, they shattered. The future now feels like a life sentence of grief," they said. "Our family is broken. The light in our family has been extinguished."
The family told the court their young children ask when daddy is coming home, saying "They say a monster took daddy away." They directed their final words at Nur: "May you and your soul never rest in peace."
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
