Man murdered in 'public execution' in front of silent disco crowd in Bristol

Andre Gayle.

Two men and a teenager have been convicted of murdering a Bristol man in what his father has described as a "public execution".

Andre Gayle was chased through Easton by his attackers during the August bank holiday weekend last year

The 29-year-old was stabbed nine times in front of a crowd who had gathered for a silent disco.

Police say Andre - who died in hospital days later - "never stood a chance".

  • CCTV shows men chase Andre through crowd of people

Following an investigation into the stabbing, Avon and Somerset Police charged five people with murder. They were:

  • A 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons

  • Rico Corbin, 28, of no fixed address

  • Tyan Finlayson, 28, of no fixed address

  • Daniel Atkinson, 41, of Quarry Mead in Alveston

  • Jerome Lewis, 25, of Kimberley Place in Croydon

Lewis pleaded guilty to murder.

A jury at Bristol Crown Court convicted Corbin, Finlayson and the youth of murder on Thursday 10 June. They will be sentenced on July 5.

Atkinson was cleared of murder.

"A savage, vicious and unrestrained attack"

L-R: Rico Corbin, Jerome Lewis and Tyan Finlayson. Credit: Avon and Somerse Police

Detective Inspector Roger Doxsey, of the Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “Andre Gayle died in a senseless knife attack, which was carried out in front of a large crowd who’d gathered for a silent disco in the early hours of the late August Bank Holiday Monday.

“While the motive for this pre-planned attack on Andre has never been fully understood, the CCTV evidence is clear and unmistakeable.

Police at the scene of the stabbing. Credit: ITV

"It has shown the investigation team and indeed the jury this was a savage, vicious and unrestrained attack on an unarmed man by a group of cowardly individuals who acted together, and who were prepared to use knives to achieve their objective.

“They showed a total disregard to other members of the public who were in the immediate vicinity, which included another innocent man who was repeatedly stabbed in a case of mistaken identity, but who thankfully survived his injuries."

  • DI Doxsey speaks outside Bristol Crown Court

"His father compared this to a public execution because it was so clear," he told ITV News West Country outside of court.

"The CCTV evidence made it so clear that this was pre-planned and targeted and that Andre never stood a chance.

"These people have crept up on him from behind from different angles and chased him and attacked him - he was unarmed, they were armed and unfortunately the consequences were dire for Andre and his family."

He went on to praise Andre's family for the "courage and dignity" they have shown and thanked witnesses for coming forward with evidence.