The murderer of Albanian refugee Fetah Marku wept hysterically as he was told that he would spend the rest of his life in prison.

Richard Ellis, 33, of Watford Road, Harrow, broke down in the dock after the jury returned a majority guilty verdict of ten to two, after ten hours of deliberation at the Old Bailey on Tuesday.

After hearing the jury's verdict, Mr Ellis cursed loudly and shouted "I didn't kill anyone."

His mother's wails of despair were clearly audible from the gallery.

Ellis was among the 20 to 30 people who beat, kicked and stabbed Mr Marku in the Budget Rent-a-Car car park in Edgware in the early hours of March 24 last year, after Mr Marku had been out celebrating his birthday. His murder was the result of an earlier argument outside the Oscar Wilde Pub, High Street, between Ellis and one of Marku's friends, Ermir Cakaj, that snowballed into something far more serious.

Passing sentence, Judge Michael Coombe said: "There is evidence which the jury accepted which showed that although you were not one of the knifemen you clearly continued to attack the unfortunate deceased and encouraged the use of knives by others.

"It was a very serious and cowardly attack, a group of people in an attack on one man."

Mr Marku's body was found to have 80 separate injuries, including 29 stab wounds.

He died from massive internal bleeding.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Lee, who led the investigation, said: "This was a particularly vicious assault on a young man out celebrating his 24th birthday.

"Fetah had his whole life ahead of him and in an act of savage violence that life has tragically been cut short.

"A petty argument in the pub has resulted in this callous murder and I am pleased that Richard Ellis has been found guilty of this hideous crime."

Mr Marku's brother, Isa, 21, was present throughout the trial. Speaking through an interpreter, he said:

"Justice has been done. From the day of the murder to today, I haven't been able to relax, it has been on my mind.

"Now, at last, I can feel better. I'm happy that something has been done."

It was revealed after the verdict that Ellis had a string of previous convictions, including 11 for theft, one for affray, and one for possession of cannabis.

June 14, 2002 10:30