Man killed in Oxford St was on bail for horrific acid rape

Steven Bigby, 22, had been charged with raping a 16-year-old girl who had caustic soda poured over her body to destroy DNA evidence.

He was also charged with another attack in which a man was knifed in a gang fight.

Bigby was stabbed in the chest in front of hundreds of shoppers and commuters outside a McDonald's restaurant near Oxford Circus station at about 4.45pm on Monday.

He had been charged in January, along with nine others, over the rape of a girl at a house in Tottenham. She suffered terrible burns from the drain cleaning fluid and at one point it was feared she would die.

Bigby - a member of the north London gang Tugs From Around - was tagged after being freed on bail last week to await trial.

Detectives say they believe the attack in Oxford Street was a "spontaneous" incident sparked after Bigby threw a cup of water over four men outside the McDonald's.

However, they are also investigating the possibility that he was targeted by a rival gang in retaliation for the rape or the gang attack.

Police said they were looking for four men involved in the assault seen walking up and down Oxford Street before the stabbing.

The decision to free Bigby on bail after the rape charge came six months after he was bailed for the gang knifing. He was charged with grievous bodily harm and violent disorder over the 2006 stabbing of the man in Southgate.

It has also emerged that a 17-year-old boy living next door to Bigby's mother was also stabbed hours after the Oxford Street killing. He was attacked in Dalston at 8pm on Monday but it is unclear if it was a related incident.

Police said yesterday that they believed Bigby was the first person to be killed in Oxford Street, one of Europe's busiest shopping streets.

Two passing doctors gave him immediate treatment before he was taken to hospital, where he died shortly after arrival.

Police are studying CCTV images of the attack and pictures of the four men as they ran from the scene. The suspects are described as black and aged between 20 and 30. One was in a red T-shirt, another in a white T-shirt, one wore a vest and had a muscular build and the fourth was wearing dark clothing.

Detectives are appealing for any tourists who may have taken photographs to contact them.

Acting Detective Chief Inspector Bob Mahoney said that Bigby was stabbed with a "bog standard, normal, horrible knife you shove in your pocket". The knife was discarded a few yards from the attack.

He said: "At the moment we understand four men were walking up and down Oxford Street during the afternoon, they were described as promenading.

"At around 4.45pm they got into an altercation with three people, including Steven. The incident lasted one, maybe two minutes, and the four men ran away towards the Tube but we don't know where they went from there."

A post-mortem examination has confirmed that Bigby died from a single stab wound to the heart.

Two men, aged 18 and 19, were arrested last night in connection with the killing. They were being questioned today at an east London police station.