Teen Who Fled UK After Fatal London Stabbing Gets Life Sentence

By: Oluwaseun Lawal

He ran. But not forever.

Jackson Uwagboe, a 19-year-old from Lewisham, has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 21-year-old Robert Robinson in south-east London. The court heard how what prosecutors described as a vicious attack unfolded on a June night in 2024. It ended on a street in Deptford. It ended with sirens. And it ended with a young man dead.

Uwagboe was convicted at the Old Bailey on 10 February. On Wednesday, the judge handed him life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 21 years. The sentence also covers robbery and possession of a bladed article.

Robinson was stabbed 12 times on Carteret Way. Some of the wounds were defensive, police said — signs he tried to shield himself. He didn’t survive.

Two others were already serving life terms for the same killing. Ryan Wedderburn, 18, must serve at least 23 years. Kirk Harris, 19, received a minimum of 22 years and nine months. All three were found guilty of murder.

After the attack, the men fled the scene. Uwagboe went further. He left the country. Months later, on 25 February 2025, he returned to the UK and was arrested at Gatwick Airport on suspicion of murder. The law had waited.

Detective Inspector Neil Tovey of the Metropolitan Police said Robinson was unarmed, already wounded and on the ground when Uwagboe attacked him. Claims of self-defence, he added, had no foundation at all.

For Robinson’s family, it meant two trials. Two long waits.

Now, at least, a sentence has been passed. Justice, the court says. But for those left behind, it probably doesn’t feel complete.