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Man killed in Oxford St was on bail for horrific acid rape
Justin Davenport, Crime Correspondent14 May 2008
The victim of the Oxford Street murder was on bail for a horrific rape and gang stabbing, it was revealed today.
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.
Reader views (10)
Somebody saved the taxpayer several hundred thousand pounds jailing this scumbag. As long as these people are stabbing each other I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
Almost certainly street justice and given that our system is so weak to let a person like this out on a tag (almost unbelivable), hardly surprising. The vigilantes are more realistic than our failed justice system.
- Greg, London, 27/12/2011 16:50
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live by the sword die by it. The only one who'll shed tears for this scum is his mother and she is a fool if she does. If I was his mother I think I would have outed him my damned self.
- Samantha, croydon, 20/04/2009 06:55
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In my book, Knife = Intent to murder.
It never used to, but things have changed. Life is cheap.
Now they know how easy it is to get away with it, they will do it.
Severe sentencing is the ONLY method that will break the viscious circle and make people have a good think before they intend to stab or shoot someone.
You should not have a knife, you should not have a gun, full stop.
Put a hefty sentence of a minimum of 20 years for murder and 10 years for assualt with a weapon and minimum 5 years for carrying one.
Then perhaps children will stop murdering other children for a mobile phone.
At least guns 'appear' to have calmed down.
Basically punish hard and put the message out there. Sure life is hard for alot of these kids but the threshold has been passed and the notion that murder and assault is not something to be taken lightly, needs to be re-installed.
I was once one of these kids on the streets, there was knives, there was 'area' hatred, but carrying a gun and murdering someone, gangs, we're things from the movies.
You maybe heard about the random incident, once every few years at most ! This was a youth culture, nobody could even imagine wanting to murder somebody, it was looked down on as psychotic. We had the fear of the law and decency.
As i said that threshold has been broken and bascially now your looking at moral anarchy.
My suspicion is, there needs to be a profit involved for the government to take action !?
signed.. One Bitter Citizen.
- Anon, London, 11/11/2008 18:06
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What was he doing on bail for a crime like that?
- Darren, london, 11/11/2008 17:06
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If this is some sort of street justice here, then the authorities should be extremely concerned. However, they should also be aware that this only happens when formal institutions fail to deal severely with criminals. Bail is used too frequently, fuels reoffending, and endangers the public and society.
- Philip, London, England, 11/11/2008 17:06
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I lived in the UK for 20 years and so have some sense of how things are.Plainly put, this is a racial/cultural problem that isn't going to go away easily. The trick is to lock these people up and keep them locked up. For example, make a law that any commission of a crime whilst in possession of a weapon (knives for example) is good for ten years in prison.
What civilised people fail to realise is that a very small number of misbehaving people can quickly ruin a society. Put them away and things will improve - look at New York, for example.
- Richard, urbanna, VA, 11/11/2008 17:06
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Why after committing not one but two crimes was this guy just tagged and let out to be in the general public. This whole legal system is a farce.
- Jk, London, 11/11/2008 17:06
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"Police said yesterday that they believed Bigby was the first person to be killed in Oxford Street..."
"he was taken to hospital, where he died shortly after arrival."
Which was it? He can't be killed in Oxford Street if he later died in hospital. Do you mean "fatally stabbed"?
- Mark, London, 11/11/2008 17:06
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It's profoundly disturbing that this information has been leaked to the press. If the guy is innocent until proven guilty, how is it relevant or newsworthy?
- Rupertg, London, 11/11/2008 17:06
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When I first heard about this story, I was very sad about someone being attacked in such a public place. Now that I know what the victim has subjected someone else to previous to this, I still feel sad but less so. Also, I feel much more frightened that someone who had been charged with such a disgusting rape AND gang stabbing could be released to walk about freely among unsuspecting people.
Who is responsible for setting criminals free? Do they have any common sense? I'm guessing it's someone who occupies a lofty position and does not need to walk around in 'common areas' such as Oxford St where they may encounter the types of people they have let off even though they (unlike us) know what crimes they have committed.
- Kt, London, 11/11/2008 17:06
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