Knife death father was champion African boxer

The Ghanaian man who was stabbed in front of his three-year-old daughter while on the way to meet his newborn son was yesterday named as a champion African boxer.
Featherweight amateur boxer John Nii Kacsu Abbey, who fought under the name King Abbey, won various medals boxing for Ghana and represented his country at the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Homicide detectives were last night hunting two teenagers for questioning who were at the bus stop on London Road, West Croydon, when the father was attacked. Police refuse to rule out the possibility that the knife attack was random.
Another man, 22, who it is believed was embroiled in a long-running feud with the boxer, was being questioned last night after handing himself in to police, following an argument at the bus stop shortly before the stabbing. Detectives were yesterday granted an extension by magistrates to question him until tomorrow.
Meanwhile, child psychologists are helping care for Abbey's three-year-old daughter who watched paramedics attempt to save her father after he was stabbed once in the heart. The 26-year-old was pronounced dead at the Mayday University Hospital, Croydon, at 7.08pm last Thursday, where hours earlier his baby son had been born. The boxer was on his way to see his newborn for the first time after picking up his daughter from day care.
A security guard at a nearby office who escorted the girl from the scene of the stabbing described how she kept muttering the words "Mum" and "Mayday" under her breath.
Witnesses recalled how they heard shouting as a row erupted shortly before the Ghanaian man was stabbed.
"There was a man on the ground and ambulancemen were giving him heart massage," said shopkeeper Hassan Palavor.
Abbey, a keen local boxer, fought with distinction for his native Ghana, winning a gold medal in the boxing championships of the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa in Lomé, Togo, when he was 19. He was also a prominent member of the Black Bombers, Ghana's national amateur boxing team.
His wife, who has not been named, is described as inconsolable. "She sounded the lowest that you can imagine a human being sounding. She was completely down and flat," said Martin Quansah, welfare officer at the Ghana High Commission.
Last night a white forensic tent was still erected over the bus stop as officers continued a fingertip examination of the shelter and timetable for evidence. A number of knives recovered from the area were being analysed, with between 80 and 100 officers, including 50 detectives, involved with the case.
"In particular, we need to talk to two teenage boys who were at the bus stop when the incident happened," said detective chief inspector Cliff Lyons. The pair are described as black, aged between 15 and 20 years old, of slim build and wearing hooded tops.
Lyons said the tragedy must "prick people's consciences" and encourage them to come forward with any information they have. "This was a shocking attack in a public place in the early evening," added the detective leading the investigation.

The Ghanaian man who was stabbed in front of his three-year-old daughter while on the way to meet his newborn son was yesterday named as a champion African boxer.
Featherweight amateur boxer John Nii Kacsu Abbey, who fought under the name King Abbey, won various medals boxing for Ghana and represented his country at the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Homicide detectives were last night hunting two teenagers for questioning who were at the bus stop on London Road, West Croydon, when the father was attacked. Police refuse to rule out the possibility that the knife attack was random.
Another man, 22, who it is believed was embroiled in a long-running feud with the boxer, was being questioned last night after handing himself in to police, following an argument at the bus stop shortly before the stabbing. Detectives were yesterday granted an extension by magistrates to question him until tomorrow.
Meanwhile, child psychologists are helping care for Abbey's three-year-old daughter who watched paramedics attempt to save her father after he was stabbed once in the heart. The 26-year-old was pronounced dead at the Mayday University Hospital, Croydon, at 7.08pm last Thursday, where hours earlier his baby son had been born. The boxer was on his way to see his newborn for the first time after picking up his daughter from day care.
A security guard at a nearby office who escorted the girl from the scene of the stabbing described how she kept muttering the words "Mum" and "Mayday" under her breath.
Witnesses recalled how they heard shouting as a row erupted shortly before the Ghanaian man was stabbed.
"There was a man on the ground and ambulancemen were giving him heart massage," said shopkeeper Hassan Palavor.
Abbey, a keen local boxer, fought with distinction for his native Ghana, winning a gold medal in the boxing championships of the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa in Lomé, Togo, when he was 19. He was also a prominent member of the Black Bombers, Ghana's national amateur boxing team.
His wife, who has not been named, is described as inconsolable. "She sounded the lowest that you can imagine a human being sounding. She was completely down and flat," said Martin Quansah, welfare officer at the Ghana High Commission.
Last night a white forensic tent was still erected over the bus stop as officers continued a fingertip examination of the shelter and timetable for evidence. A number of knives recovered from the area were being analysed, with between 80 and 100 officers, including 50 detectives, involved with the case.
"In particular, we need to talk to two teenage boys who were at the bus stop when the incident happened," said detective chief inspector Cliff Lyons. The pair are described as black, aged between 15 and 20 years old, of slim build and wearing hooded tops.
Lyons said the tragedy must "prick people's consciences" and encourage them to come forward with any information they have. "This was a shocking attack in a public place in the early evening," added the detective leading the investigation.