Islington Tribune - by DAVID ST GEORGE Published: 18 April 2008
Joseph Armstrong
Two guilty of killing dealer TWO knifemen are facing life sentences for the fatal stabbing of a drug dealer they suspected of stealing a £30 mobile phone.
Former top runner Jamal Dyce, 19, and Curtis Henry-Seabourne, 22, from Newington Green, were convicted this week of the murder of Joseph “Tinker” Armstrong in September, 2006. They denied any involvement and blamed others.
Mr Armstrong, 40, was lured to his death by a message that he was wanted for a cannabis deal.
He was ambushed on Newington Green estate and knifed in the neck, stomach and back, the Old Bailey heard.
He had been suspected of stealing a mobile phone from a teenage girl visiting the estate. Dyce, a musician, of Congrieve House, and Henry-Seabourne, a meat factory worker, of Hathersage Court, will be sentenced on May 12, by Judge Martin Stephens, QC.
Nicknamed “Loony”, Dyce was said to have boasted of the killing and to have “giggled” to witnesses as he held up a bloody hand while describing the stabbing.
Jurors were unable to agree on verdicts in respect of two brothers who denied any part in the murder or having knives. They may face a retrial.
Joseph Armstrong
