A murderer who stabbed his former friend with a huge ‘Rambo’-style knife following a dispute over a stolen motorbike in South Norwood has been jailed for life.

Tyrone Farquharson, 20, of Archer Road, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on December 7 after being convicted at the same court of killing Kelva Smith.

Kelva was murdered on March 5 in South Norwood earlier this year when Farquharson stabbed him in a “sudden and violent” attack in a street.

Alongside Farquharson a 16-year-old boy from east Croydon, who legally cannot be named, was convicted of possessing an axe and conspiracy to rob.

However, he was not found guilty of murder and will be sentenced on December 19.

A 14-year-old boy, who also legally cannot be named, from South Norwood, was found not guilty on all counts.

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Tyrone Farquharson. Photo: Metropolitan Police

The original incident occurred at around 4pm on March 5 when Kelva arranged to meet Farquharson, who he knew well, in Archer Road.

He wanted to talk about a motorbike he’d reportedly stolen from Gordon Crescent, in Croydon, several weeks before that he’d wanted to sell.

But problems emerged when it had gone missing the night before, and Kelva was told by his brother that Farquharson and a 14-year-old boy were riding it round the local area.

On his way to Archer Road with his cousin, Kelva spoke with Farquharson on the phone but became frustrated because he thought Farquharson was being dishonest about whether he had the bike and if he’d return it.

Kelva and his cousin would meet Farquharson and a then-15-year-old boy, now 16, before “angry words” were exchanged between the two parties.

It was shortly after that Farquharson would produce a huge” ‘Rambo’-style knife as the boy next to him brandished an axe.

Farquharson initially stabbed Kelva with the weapon and then another four times, in his left side and abdomen.

Kelva and his cousin were then chased by the attackers, and ran to some parked cars.

The stab victim’s cousin picked up a piece of wood to try and defend himself but it would split into two.

They would again run away, still being pursued by the attackers, before Kelva collapsed on the pavement.

Farquharson and the boy then fled the scene as his cousin, alongside members of the public, came to his aid.

Paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and the London Air Ambulance Service tried to save his life, but couldn’t stop the internal bleeding, and Kelva died shortly after 5.30pm in Albert Road that day.

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Kelva Smith. Photo: Metropolitan Police

Police later launched an investigation and found that Farquharson and the 16-year-old were in the area of Birchanger Road, near South Norwood, that day in March.

It was where Kelva was told they were riding round.

Farquharson had visited a friend’s house and asked to borrow a screwdriver and a pair of pliers, with the friend’s dad allowing them to search his toolbox.

It was his belief they wanted to use his tools to repair the motorbike but police believe the 16-year-old involved picked up the axe used from there.

Farquharson would then leave the friend’s house and meet up with the co-defendant before going to Archer Road where Smith and his cousin were attacked.

He was later spotted walking back to his home, “laughing and joking” according to detectives, with the 16-year-old involved close-by where the weapons used were “clearly visible”.

They were at Farquharson’s address for under a minute and came back outside before walking into an alleyway, off Albert Road, where they searched for a place to dispose of their weapons.

The weapons were never recovered.

Both would later hand themselves in at Lewisham police station the day after Kelva’s murder and police would find the stolen motorbike at the centre of the dispute behind a block of flats in Albert Road.

Farquharson was also sentenced to 18 months, to run concurrently, for possession of a knife.

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The motorbike at the centre of the dispute. Photo: Metropolitan Police

On the day of the murderer’s sentencing Detective Sergeant Rob Tickle, from Scotland Yard’s homicide and major crime command unit, said: “Today a young man was sentenced to life imprisonment for stabbing his former friend to death.

“It’s important that people understand the reasoning for the minimum term imposed by the judge, and that Farquharson will have to serve 21 years before he can even be considered for parole.

“Even then, he will have to convince a parole board that he’s no longer a danger to the public.

“There is no reduction by half for sentencing in a murder case.”

He would later call knife crime a “scourge” of towns and cities, and a “blight on the futures of our young people”.

Detective Sergeant Tickle added: “The Smith family have paid the ultimate price with the death of Kelva.

“I feel that we have to do more as a society to stop this and change the mindset of those [who] carry and use weapons.”