Three men have been convicted of murdering a man in North London after stabbing him 22 times in a vicious gang attack during the early hours of the morning.
Gregory Catillo Volquez, 36, died after being ambushed by the trio in Tiverton Road, Haringey, shortly before 5am on Monday, January 13, 2025.
Benito Ramirez Kones, 20, of Hackney, and Carlos Akum Metumbe, 22, also of Hackney, were convicted of murder on Wednesday, May 20, at Southwark Crown Court alongside Italian national Luiggi Perelli Santana, 22, of Lambeth, following an eight-week trial. All three will be sentenced at a later date.
The court heard that Mr Volquez had been enjoying a night out with friends in South London before heading home north of the river. In Haringey, he was violently attacked by the defendants, and police later determined that he knew all three perpetrators.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Unit spent hours analyzing CCTV footage and gathering forensic evidence to locate, extradite, and arrest the defendants. Kones was caught five days after the attack in Swansea. His trainers, seen on CCTV, were seized and forensic evidence confirmed they were covered in traces of Mr Volquez's blood.
Two of the killers, Metumbe and Santana, fled to Spain and were extradited by Met officers in August and October 2025 respectively. Both were captured on CCTV raining blows on Mr Volquez with a machete and crutch.
Mr Volquez's post-mortem examination showed 22 stab wounds, many caused by a long knife, as well as bruises from a blunt object. Forensic evidence supported the footage, and Santana’s bloody fingerprints were identified on both the crutch and the large knife.
Detective Inspector Jim Barry, who led the investigation, said: “Our skilled team of officers showed huge tenacity to build a solid case with indisputable forensic evidence which resulted in three violent men being taken off our streets. It’s this hard work that is enabling the force to secure a positive outcome from 95 per cent of our murder investigations. I hope that this result offers a morsel of justice and closure for Gregory’s family, who have been left without a much-loved dad, brother, and son.”
The three men will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, July 10. A fourth man was found not guilty.
