Manslaughter conviction after man, 20, stabbed to death at Crowne Plaza Hotel
A killer has been found guilty of manslaughter after a 20-year-old man was stabbed to death during a fight in a city centre hotel room.
Muhammad Khan was cleared of murder but convicted of the manslaughter of Panashe Bako, who he killed at The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Birmingham last July.
Caesar Bello, who had also denied murder, was found not guilty and released.
Khan, aged 20, went to the hotel in Halliday Street on July 17 after finding out his former partner was there with Mr Bako.
Phone analysis showed that Khan had contacted his ex dozens of times that day after seeing on social media that she was at the hotel.
Khan went to the Crowne Plaza and claimed that the woman Mr Bako was with owed him money.
He began taking a number of items belonging to her and when Mr Bako tried stop him a fight broke out between the two.
While they fought, a knife was produced and Mr Bako was stabbed.
Khan then fled as Mr Bako lay dying in the hotel corridor.
Hotel staff and paramedics fought to save him but he was pronounced dead in hospital.
Meanwhile Khan had left behind a six-inch knife, returned to its sheath, on the floor by a lift.
He was arrested the next day and officers retrieved two phones and a bag from the boot of the car he was in.
West Midlands Police also seized clothing which forensic analysis showed was stained with Mr Bako’s blood.
Khan, of Gowan Road, Washwood Heath, had denied murder but after a four-week trial at Stafford Crown Court was found guilty of manslaughter.
Detective Inspector Jim Colclough, from the West Midlands Police homicide team, said: "It is simply tragic that a row in a hotel can have escalated so far and so fast that a young man has lost his life.
"Carrying knives only leads to more violence and the consequences of using them all too often leads to a family mourning the loss of a loved one.
"Our thoughts remain with Mr Bako’s family at this devastating time but we hope that Khan's conviction brings them some comfort.
"We will always pursue those who arm themselves with weapons and use them to inflict pain and suffering on others and that work continues."
Khan and Bello, of St Heliers Road, Birmingham, were also found not guilty of a related charge of robbery.
Khan was remanded in custody for sentencing on August 6.
