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A High Wycombe man who stabbed a teenager and then fled to the Caribbean to avoid capture has been jailed for 16 years.

Davarn Francis, 21, from Hithercroft Road, killed Slough teenager Wa-ays Dhaye on Bank Holiday Monday, August 31, in 2015, before he fled the country for Saint Vincent.

Wa-ays was walking home after coming back from the Notting Hill Carnival when he was stabbed multiple times - penetrating his abdomen and severing his aorta.

The 18-year-old was found by members of the public who called 999 and he was taken to Wexham Park Hospital but he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.

In a previous trial in 2016, Khianni Gordon, then 18, from High Wycombe, was convicted of one count of murder and one count of perverting the course of justice, Kaneel Huggins, then aged 19, from High Wycombe, was convicted of one count of manslaughter and one count of perverting the course of justice, and Antwon Clarke, then aged 18, from High Wycombe, was convicted of one count of manslaughter.

Reporting restrictions were in place but have now been lifted in connection with further court proceedings in June last year in connection with the case.

James Barker, then aged 75, of St Hugh’s Avenue, High Wycombe, Wesley Barker, then aged 40, of Pentlands Road, Slough, and Sophia Corbyn, then aged 47, of Ripley Road, Reading, were each charged with one count of perverting the course of justice.

James Baker and Sophia Corbyn were found not guilty, while Wesley Barker pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.

Davarn Francis was jailed today (January 23) for 16 years after being found guilty of one count of manslaughter. He was found not guilty of one count of murder by a jury at Reading Crown Court.

Investigating officer, Detective Sergeant John Slater, said the sentencing was the conclusion of a “lengthy process for the family of Wa-ays Dhaye, a young man who was brutally killed”.

He said: “Wa-ays’ family has waited with patience and dignity over three years to see each of his killers brought to justice. Nothing we could ever do could bring Wa-ays back to them, but I would like to thank them for the support they have shown the investigation throughout this time and hope that the verdict and sentence brings them to the end of this part of their painful journey.

“Davarn Francis fled the country just days after this awful crime had been committed and before the police could locate him. Francis thought that he would be safe from capture and prosecution, however thanks to the tenacity and commitment of the investigation team, the Crown Prosecution Service and the National Crime Agency he was traced to Saint Vincent, in the Caribbean, and returned to the UK where he has been convicted of manslaughter.

“This investigation has been a great example of many agencies working together to ensure that those who seek to hide from their culpability in the most serious crimes will be found and brought to justice. I would like to thank everyone who has worked on this investigation to secure justice for Wa-ays’ family.

“Sadly this is another case where a knife has been used and to take a life in the UK. The advice is simple - don’t carry a knife. Carrying a knife brings many dangers – you become more likely to hurt someone or to be hurt yourself.

“The fight against knife crime will continue and if you are found in possession of a knife or involved in a crime in which a knife is used, the consequences are severe and could have a long lasting effect.”