'Young children are left without their fathers - this is what knife crime does'

The mum of a man who was fatally stabbed in Lakeside shopping centre has sent to a message to anyone thinking of carrying a knife.

In it, Lauretta Ugwa warns of the devastation which knife crime causes and its far-reaching consequences for the families of victims – and perpetrators’.

She has bravely decided to speak out as part of a national week of action on knife crime, named Sceptre week.

Her son, 29-year-old Michael Ugwa, was in the Lakeside food court at 4.30pm on 28 April 2022 when a chance meeting led to him being stabbed by Muhammad Khan.

Khan, of Illford, east London, and his accomplice Brandon Lutchmunsing, previously of Grafton Road, Dagenham, confronted Michael and his friends.

As the confrontation escalated Khan lunged at Michael with a knife and stabbed him under his arm, through his ribs and puncturing his heart.

Khan was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum or 27 years.

Lutchmunsing was convicted of manslaughter and affray and sentenced to 13 years.

Lauretta said:

“Everybody in my family, in one way or the other, has been affected.
“Normally when I'm working, I don't pick up calls. But then Michael called me and he asked can you make soup? I'm going to come with my partner.
“And he goes: ‘You are the best mum ever!’. That was the last thing he said to me.
“When I got home, the police were there and that was when they said to me that my son was dead."

She added:

“When you carry a knife, the tendency to use it is there. You can decide to justify your carrying a knife by saying: ‘Oh, I want to use it to defend myself. No.’
“My son’s children will live without a father for the rest of their lives.
“Michael’s murder has affected everyone. Everyone has lost.
“This is killing families. This is devastating families. Young children are left without their fathers.
“This needs to stop. We are still feeling this amount of pain.
“This is what knife crime does.”

In Essex, we’re working hard with our key partners to tackle knife crime, through enforcement against those who commit it and through a number of preventative methods.

Across the county, we have seen significant decreases in knife crime in recent years. In the last 12 months the rate of decrease has slowed, and we’ve recorded a slight decrease, to 1,498 incidents of serious knife-enabled crime in year to 31 October 2024.

That’s about an 8% decrease on pre-Covid levels.

Detective chief inspector Ian Hughes, who leads our work to tackle knife crime in Essex, said:

“The bravery of Lauretta to come forward and tell her story, to be so open about the devastating impact of knife crime is humbling.
“Her words, as a loving mum, say more than I ever could so my plea to people in Essex – and indeed around the country – today is to watch her video. To anyone who’s thinking of carrying a knife, listen to Lauretta’s message. To anyone who suspects their loved one may be carrying a knife or may be at risk of carrying a knife, please listen to her warning.
“To reiterate Lauretta’s words, knife crime is devastating. We’re working really hard to tackle knife crime, with specialist teams in place across the force and we’ll continue to do that work determinedly.”

For more information and advice about knife crime, please visit our Stop Knife Crime pages.