Knifeman jailed for 14 years after Crowne Plaza Hotel room killing
A knifeman who stabbed a 20-year-old to death in a hotel room in Birmingham has been jailed for 14 years.
Muhammad Khan was found guilty of the manslaughter of Panashe Bako, who died after suffering a single knife wound to his chest on July 21 last year.
Now Khan has been locked up for 14 years, having been convicted after a four-week trial at Stafford Crown Court in May.
The victim was stabbed when a row erupted into violence in a room at The Crowne Plaza Holiday, in Holiday Street, at around 7.20pm.
Hotel staff and then paramedics worked to save Mr Bako's life as he lay wounded in the hotel corridor but he was pronounced dead at hospital.
Khan had gone to the Crowne Plaza and claimed that the woman Mr Bako was with owed him money.
Using phone analysis, detectives discovered that Khan, also aged 20, had contacted his ex dozens of times that day after seeing on social media post that she was at the hotel with Mr Bako.
Khan arrived and began taking a number of items belonging to her. When Mr Bako tried stop him a fight broke out between the two.
A knife was then produced and Mr Bako was fatally stabbed.
Khan then fled the hotel but left behind a six-inch knife, returned to its sheath, on the floor by a lift.
Khan was arrested the next day and two phones and a bag were retrieved from the boot of the car he was in. Clothing was also seized which forensic analysis revealed was stained with Mr Bako's blood.
Khan, of Gowan Road, Washwood Heath, had denied murder but after a four-week trial at Stafford Crown Court the jury on May 28 found Khan guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced on Friday.
Caesar Bello, of St Heliers Road, Birmingham, who had also denied murder, was found not guilty. Both men were also found not guilty of a related charge of robbery.
Detective Inspector Jim Colclough, from the force homicide team, said after the jury's verdict: "It is simply tragic that a row in a hotel can have escalated so far and so fast that a young man has lost his life.
"Carrying knives only leads to more violence and the consequences of using them all too often leads to a family mourning the loss of a loved one.
"Our thoughts remain with Mr Bako’s family at this devastating time but we hope that Khan's conviction brings them some comfort.
"We will always pursue those who arm themselves with weapons and use them to inflict pain and suffering on others and that work continues."
