By Grâçia Ada Obi
A man has been jailed for murdering his ex-girlfriend’s father in a stabbing in Hackney on July 30 last year.
Kamar Williams, 34, was found guilty of the murder of bus driver Derek Thomas, 55, and for the possession of an offensive weapon earlier this month.
He was sentenced on Friday July 18, 2025 at the Old Bailey to life in prison with a minimum term of 29 years.
After the “frenzied” attack on July 30, 2024, Williams, from the Isle of Dogs, east London, went on the run for a month, the court heard.
He was finally detained at Notting Hill Carnival on August 26 last year, having avoided police in a car chase last August 3.
Her Honour Judge Angela Rafferty KC told Williams that he had targeted Mr Thomas for “revenge because of your own fury,” adding that the attack involved “savage violence”.
Giving her sentencing remarks, Judge Rafferty said: “I am sure that you intended to kill Derek Thomas. This was a merciless and determined attack.
“You killed him even though at one time you saw him as a father figure.
“You knew how important he was to his wife and his children as you had lived alongside them for two years.”
Judge Rafferty added: “On July 30 last year, you were simmering with rage throughout the evening having been arguing with your ex-partner Carron Thomas and her family.
“I am sure that in your frustration and anger, you planned to have a violent confrontation with one of the Thomas family that night.
“Mr Thomas died there on the street minutes from his home with the shopping he had bought strewn around him.”
Jurors were told the defendant had been looking for the victim’s daughter Carron Thomas on the night of the murder and had sent threatening text messages warning her to “watch this space”.
Ms Thomas had called police twice in the hours before her father was attacked.
Just before 7pm, she reported to police that Williams was at her sister’s address, but when police arrived he was not there.
She called the police again just after 10:30pm, while she was at her sister’s house, believing she could see Williams walking through the estate.
Williams was pictured on CCTV driving a grey van along Benthal Road until stopping directly outside Mr Thomas’ house on Stoke Newington Common at around 11pm.
Mr Thomas, who had been married for 35 years, had finished a late shift as a bus driver and gone into Tesco for some food before heading home.
Williams stopped the van he was driving in the middle of the road, got out and stabbed the grandfather five times.
Police received a call at 11:04pm from a member of the public reporting that a man had been stabbed “with a very big knife”.
Despite best efforts from officers and the London Ambulance Service, Mr Thomas died at the scene.
Ms Thomas said her father was a “kind, gentle and loving man” who “did not deserve to have his life taken in such a senseless way”.
In a victim impact statement that was read to the court, Ms Thomas said: “What makes this loss even more painful is that the person responsible is someone I shared a relationship with.
“My family is broken. We are trying to carry on, but we do so with heavy hearts, we feel our father’s absence in every moment.”
Mr Thomas’s sister, Blondelle Thomas, said her brother was a “dedicated bus driver” with Go Ahead London and had been a “prolific footballer who retired early due to injury”.
Reading her victim impact statement at the sentencing, Ms Thomas added: “My brother Derek Thomas was cruelly and brutally ripped away from me and all who loved and cared about him on July 30 2024.
“I cannot hold my brother, I’ll never hear his words ‘I love you, sister’ again.
“I’m truly grateful to have had Derek’s love and trust in my life.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector John Marriott, who led the investigation, said: “This was a brutal and premeditated attack on a much-loved father.
“Kamar Williams showed clear intent that night, driving to Derek’s home, waiting for the right moment, and carrying out this senseless act of violence.
“The swift response from our officers, combined with extensive CCTV, forensic work, and determination from our investigation team, led to his arrest and conviction.”
Earlier this month, a jury at the Ol Bailey found Williams unanimously guilty of murder and guilty of having a bladed article.
