Killer's 500 blades purchased from 'zombie knife store' remain hidden

by · Mail Online

A killer who ordered 500 blades from an online shop, falsely telling them he was building an anti-knife crime sculpture, was jailed for murder yesterday.

Leo Reid, 21, told the lie to the owners of DNA Leisure over email when they enquired about his repeat orders, which included so-called zombie knives.

Reid, who was part of a gang that shot 17-year-old musician Tyler McDermott and stabbed him with a machete on April 13 last year, has still not told the police what he did with the blades.

At the Old Bailey yesterday he was jailed for a minimum of 22 years for his part in the brutal killing.

His role in the murder was to use a machete to hack at Mr McDermott as he lay prone, bleeding from a gunshot wound to his head outside a party in Tottenham, north London. 

In a moving statement, the victim’s mother, Tamika Nembhard, said: ‘I used to blame myself because I would call him to come home and on the one night I did not my son was dead. 

'I thank God for every moment me and my family shared with my son. This was such a brutal, vicious and senseless murder.’ 

In a hushed courtroom jurors who listened to the evidence at the trial returned for the sentencing before Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC.

Leo Reid, 21, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place
Tyler McDermott, 17, died after being found with a gunshot wound in Norman Road, Tottenham

Because of fighting in the dock between Reid and accomplices Tyrese Barnett and Rhys Antwi they appeared in handcuffs, while the fourth defendant, Kalam Bagge, appeared uncuffed.

Barnett, 20, was jailed for a minimum of 30 years, Antwi, 20, for a minimum of 14 years, and Bagge, 19, for a minimum of 13 years.

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Judge Whitehouse told the court that Reid was on bail for possession of a knife when he committed the murder and was awaiting sentence.

Jurors heard how DNA Leisure in Great Marlings, Luton, Bedfordshire, is a company that sells sports goods, fishing gear and other items. They also sell a range of knives. Reid had an account with the store.

They were told: ‘On October 21, 2022, October 31, 2022, and November 12, 2022, he placed orders with DNA Leisure that included a total of eight Golan Red Anodized Stainless Steel Roman Swords.’ 

But what the jury did not hear was that Reid’s entire catalogue of weapons extended into the hundreds including zombie knives, long blades specifically designed to instil fear into victims.

The order included eight Golan Red Anodized Stainless Steel Roman Swords (pictured)
Tyrese Barnett, 20, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, to serve a minimum of 30 years, attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life
Kalam Bagge, 19, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 13 years, for murder
Rhys Antwi, 20, of Prentis Road, Lambeth, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 14 years, for murder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Sources have confirmed that Reid ordered between 400 and 500 knives from the shop and received them, before possibly selling them on.

A ban on zombie-style knives and machetes began in September.

DNA Leisure, which is to wind down its online store, was approached for comment.