A man has been jailed for life after stabbing his friend three times in a luxury London apartment following an argument over debt — then hiding the murder weapon in his waistband, taking a lift to the lobby and hurling the knife from the 14th floor before police could arrive.
Fawaz Abdulkareem, 36, was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Friday to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years for the murder of Daniel Manuel, 32, who was killed in the early hours of 5 July 2025 at Abdulkareem’s flat in Vauxhall, south London. The two men had returned to the flat after a night out at a nightclub with friends before an argument over a debt Daniel allegedly owed turned fatal.
CCTV footage captured by The Sun shows Abdulkareem leaving the apartment topless, wearing grey tracksuit bottoms, with what appears to be the kitchen knife tucked into his waistband. He takes the lift to the building’s lobby, using his T-shirt to conceal the weapon from staff, to whom he claimed Daniel had been injured. He then threw the blade from the 14th floor window in what the court described as a reckless attempt to destroy evidence before emergency services arrived.
Despite the efforts of paramedics and officers who performed emergency first aid at the scene, Daniel died from his injuries. He had been stabbed three times. Abdulkareem was arrested at the scene when a police officer noticed blood on his clothing.
The defence argued that Abdulkareem had acted in self-defence, but the court heard that the nature of Daniel’s injuries — consistent with being stabbed in the back — undermined that account entirely. The jury dismissed the self-defence claim and convicted him of murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place on 21 May.
Detective Inspector Luke Hampton, who led the Metropolitan Police investigation, said Abdulkareem had “tried to deceive police” throughout the investigation. “Daniel was murdered in a moment of extreme violence by a man he thought was his friend,” Hampton said. “Abdulkareem tried to deceive police, recklessly throwing the murder weapon from the window of the 14th floor of a tower block and cruelly claiming it was Daniel who had attacked him. Met detectives saw through his lies and worked hard to secure a conviction. Our thoughts remain with Daniel’s family and we hope this sentence gives them a degree of peace.”
Daniel’s wife Zulal paid tribute to her husband in a statement that laid bare the devastation his murder had caused. “Daniel was not just my husband, he was my partner, my home, my emotional safety and the person I built my entire life around,” she said. “Losing him in such a violent and sudden way has completely shattered my world. This loss has affected every part of my life — emotionally, physically, financially — and I am still trying to survive the aftermath of it.”
