Great Yarmouth murderer stabbed 'young man with bright future' in town street

A man has been found guilty of murdering a man who was stabbed in the chest in a town street.

A court heard that Junior Suleimane, 21, of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk drove a knife into Felizardo Jose Vieira-Balde outside a bookmaker's in St Peter's Street on an afternoon in February.

The 23-year-old victim was found soon after by a member of the public who said she saw him spitting blood from his nose and mouth and struggling to breathe in an alleyway off Wellington Road.

She alerted police, who reviewed CCTV that captured the murder.

A jury was shown footage that showed Suleimane entering a shop just prior to the stabbing, having arrived on an electric bicycle in the company of another man, later identified as his uncle, Jaimes Antonia Santos.

After the attack, Suleimane and Santos fled the scene but were caught again on CCTV leaving a flat at Caesar's Palace having changed their clothes at 2pm.

Sulemaine, of Market Place, could also be seen carrying a blue bag in his right hand, while Santos carried a black bin liner but the contents were unknown to police.

The court heard that Suleimane and Santos's movements were then tracked across the country.

Initially, the pair fled to the town of Loddon in Norfolk, where a friend, Victor Silva, helped them to travel to an address in Cambridge.

From there, they headed north and were eventually arrested by West Yorkshire Police on a bus at Leeds bus station.

Norfolk Police's Det Insp Dave McCormack, who led the murder investigation, said: "Suleimane arrived at the scene of the crime prepared to commit the most serious act of violence.

"Felizardo was a young man with a bright future loved by his family and community. My deepest condolences go to his family and friends for their loss.

"Suleimane and his uncle aided by a friend moved across the country intent on evading capture in full knowledge of the crime they had committed."

The jury took seven hours to reach a guilty verdict.

Suleimane will be sentenced at a later date.Jaimes Santos, 44, of Nelson Road south and Vitor Silva, 22 of Crossway Terrace, Loddon, have pleaded guilty to assisting an offender.

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