Man jailed for life over chess game murder

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/02/man-jailed-chess-game-murder-leyton-london

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A man has been sentenced to life in prison for stabbing his flatmate through the heart in a row over a game of chess.

Massimo Fishti, 35, of Leyton, east London, must serve a minimum term of 21 years after he was convicted of murdering Ioan Suditu, a 40-year-old father of two, in the early hours of Saturday 25 April.

Following the sentencing at Snaresbrook crown court, DCI Jamie Piscopo, from the Scotland Yard’s homicide and major crime command, said: “What started as a peaceful game between friends ended tragically with a man losing his life.

“Mr Suditu had a wife and two young children living in Italy. When he left them behind, there was always the expectation that he would return but sadly this will never happen. I am pleased that the jury has found Fishti guilty of murder and I hope that today’s conviction brings some comfort to Mr Suditu’s family.”

The court heard how, on the night of the murder, Fishti had left the shared Leyton High Road flat with two friends, leaving Suditu and a third flatmate playing a game of chess in the kitchen.

Fishti returned a short time later, alone, and complaining about having been stopped by a homeless man who had asked him for 50p. He grabbed a knife from the kitchen and left the flat only to return moments later, placing the blade on a kitchen worktop.

Irate, he then disrupted the chess game between Suditu and the third flatmate and threw the board in the air, provoking a reaction from Suditu. In the ensuing struggle, Fishti stabbed Suditu in the chest before fleeing.

Police were called at 3.33am and officers who were first on scene found Suditu unresponsive on the kitchen floor. Paramedics fought to save his life but he was pronounced dead at the scene about an hour later.

Fishti was arrested nearby at 4.45am and was subsequently charged with Suditu’s murder. A postmortem gave the cause of death as a stab wound to the heart.

Suditu’s wife, Iuliana, said the loss of her husband, who had travelled to the UK to find better work, had affected her and their children deeply. They had hoped to join him and live together in London in July of this year.

“He was everything to me; he was the pillar of the family,” she said in a statement. “My two children, a son age 12 and a daughter age four, have also been affected. My son had a strong bond with his father. After finding out about his death, problems started appearing. Every passing day worsened his feelings of anxiety. He doesn’t want to study any longer; he doesn’t want to go to school any more. He is agitated all the time and he wakes up at night and cries.

“My daughter keeps asking ‘when is daddy going to come back? When will he call so that I can talk to him?’ What can I answer to these questions?

“Nothing in this world can replace my husband; neither can it bring him back. For that reason I want the law to have its say in this case. Our plans to be together until old age, to see together our children married crumbled with my husband’s death.”