Two men from London have been sentenced after a University of Hertfordshire student was stabbed at a house party.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Ramani Boreland, 21, of Ambleside Close, Hackney and Mohammed Musse, 21, of Spotter House, Berger Road, Hackney. Picture: Met Police.Ramani Boreland, 21, of Ambleside Close, Hackney and Mohammed Musse, 21, of Spotter House, Berger Road, Hackney. Picture: Met Police. (Image: Archant)

On January 1, 2018, Steve Narvaez-Jara was in the kitchen of an Islington New Year’s Eve party when a fight broke out between a group of people.

Witnesses told police Mohammed Musse, of Spotter House, Berger Road, Hackney had started the fight, after a boyfriend of one of the female guests confronted the 21-year-old for making a nuisance of himself.

The court heard that Musse punched Steve, a 20-year-old piloting and engineering student, and Steve punched him back.

Musse then left the kitchen, prior to the fatal attack, and the fight became a large brawl in which bottles were thrown and weapons were produced.

Steve slipped and fell to the floor, where he was punched, struck with pieces of wood from a broken shoe rack, hit with a machete, and then stabbed twice in the chest and once in the arm.

Both the stab wounds to the chest entered Steve’s heart and he died at the scene a short time later.

Witnesses told police that Ramani Boreland, 21, of Ambleside Close, Hackney was involved in the attack on Steve along with a 20-year-old, who was stabbed to death in Hackney on April 2018 in an unrelated incident, though no one could say which one actually delivered the fatal blow.

Musse was found guilty of violent disorder in February and sentenced to two years, suspended, and ordered to complete 250 hours unpaid work, 22 days of programme requirement and 10 days of rehabilitation on Monday, May 18 at the Old Bailey.

Boreland was found guilty of manslaughter and violent disorder in February and sentenced in March to ten years for manslaughter, and three years for violent disorder, to run concurrently, at the same court.

A third man, Daniel Lena, was found not guilty of murder and violent disorder.

All admitted being at the party but denied stabbing Steve, who was living in South London at the time.

DCI Paul Considin, said: “This has been a long, gruelling process for Steve’s family and I hope that this will bring them just a little comfort. My officers have worked hard to make sure that those responsible were brought to justice but, of course, this will never take away the pain and loss that Steve’s death has caused.”

A friend of the family, Katheryne Herrera, who raised money for Steve’s funeral, said: “He was passionate about music as well as football. A young man who was loved amongst his family and peers and as the Ecuadorian young man he was, he was full of life and loved a great party.

“He left behind a loving mother, father, and three younger sisters.”