A Camberwell man who repeatedly stabbed his love rival on a bus in Oxford Circus has been jailed for 25-and-a-half years.
Oscar Castano-Colque bombarded his ex-girlfriend with messages declaring his love before knifing her new boyfriend to death on February 28, 2023.
The 21-year-old pleaded guilty to the murder of Rafioullah Malik and was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court, on Thursday, February 22.
Police said Castano-Colque “could not accept his relationship was over” and inundated his former partner with texts, Instagram messages and voice notes.
He was “driven by a desire to rekindle his relationship at any cost” when he followed his victim onto a bus at 10.11pm, detectives said.
Taking the time to tap his bank card before boarding, he then carried out the “vicious and determined” attack.
Rafioullah was taken to hospital but tragically died from his injuries on March 23, 2023.
Officers identified Castano-Colque as the man responsible and arrested him just a few days after the attack.
Police recovered the discarded bloodstained clothing worn by Castano-Colque and the knife bearing both the victim’s and the attacker’s DNA.
Passenger data showing he used his bank card to tap in, coupled with CCTV footage capturing the entire crime, left him with “no choice but to plead guilty”, police said.
Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley who led the investigation said: “Castano-Colque could not accept his relationship was over and his former girlfriend had moved on. On the day of the attack we tracked his movements on CCTV to target the bus Rafioullah Malik was on in order to carry out his vicious and determined attack.
“After stabbing Rafioullah numerous times, Castano-Colque left the bus and attempted to throw away his coat and the murder weapon.
“In the immediate search after the incident, we recovered both of these key pieces of evidence and DNA testing irrefutably linked Castano-Colque to the murder.
“This coupled with CCTV from on board the bus which captured the entirety of this crime, meant Castano-Colque had no choice but to plead guilty.”