The three men were sentenced at the Old Bailey:
Syd Goss, 22, of Huntsman Road, Ilford, received a 29-year prison sentence.
Jermaine Forrester, 25, of Ilford’s Ley Street, was sentenced to 29 years in prison.
Ryan Graham, 27, of Farnham Road, Ilford, received a 27-year prison sentence.
On Thursday, May 19, they were convicted after a six-week trial at the same court.
Lee Baxter was not a master criminal, he was not adept at arranging drug deals, and the circumstances leading up to his death should not cast any shadow on the utter senselessness of it,” said Detective Inspector Adam Callaghan, who led the murder investigation.
Lee was the victim of a heinous crime, and he deserves to be punished.” Lee was a loving father who died in the most violent way possible. My thoughts are with his family and friends during this, I’m sure, difficult time.
Goss, Forrester, and Graham planned to rob Lee and were willing to use violence to do so.” They were armed with knives, whereas Lee was not. Lee did not go to Pavillion Terrace expecting to be attacked. When these three men decided to launch their fatal attack, Lee was walking away from the deal.
I’d like to thank everyone who spoke to police about what they saw that day.” You didn’t abandon Lee and were an important part of our investigation to bring him to justice. We were able to quickly identify the perpetrators and ensure they were arrested, charged, and brought before the courts thanks to this information.”
Lee Baxter and another man drove to Pavillion Terrace in Ilford on October 9, 2020, with the intention of purchasing a significant amount of cannabis. Lee had £5000 on him to pay for the drugs.
Mr Baxter was met by Syd Goss, Jermaine Forrester, and Ryan Graham. He’d never met any of these men before, and he had no idea that at least one of them was armed with a knife.
Negotiations took place, and at one point Lee displayed a large sum of money to Goss, Forrester, and Graham.
Lee began to walk away when it became clear that they were not bringing the drugs. The attack to rob Lee was then led by Forrester. Graham joined the assault after Forrester put Lee in a headlock, bringing Lee to the ground and stabbing him.
Goss focused his attention on the man with Lee as Forrester and Graham attacked him. He made it unharmed to the car he and Lee had driven to the location. Goss then returned his focus to Lee and joined the attack.
Lee was stabbed multiple times, with the fatal blow lacerating his femoral artery and vein.
As he lay dying, Goss, Forrester, and Graham jumped into a waiting car and fled.
After calling police, the man with Lee attempted to save his life by placing him in the recovery position, realising that something very serious had occurred. Other witnesses attempted to assist Lee, but his injuries were too severe.
Lee died almost immediately at the scene due to significant blood loss.
Lee was pronounced dead at 10.31 p.m. after emergency personnel desperately tried to save his life, including performing surgery on the scene.
Police launched a murder investigation right away, and the plot devised by Goss, Forrester, and Graham almost immediately unravelled, with the three men quickly identified as suspects thanks to witness testimony.
On October 21, 2020, Goss and Forrester were arrested. Graham was arrested the next day.
Police discovered two knives during a search of the flat Goss and Forrester shared. One of the knives was discovered next to cleaning supplies, and both had been thoroughly cleaned. Neither knife had any bloodstains on it.
Police discovered heavily bloodstained clothing in the washing machine. The blood on these clothes was later identified as belonging to Forrester and Goss.
A forensic search of the three men’s car, which was captured on CCTV driving away from the murder scene, revealed Lee’s blood had been deposited in various locations in the rear of the car, where Forrester and Graham were sitting.
