A Nigerian student was fatally stabbed in the heart during an attack over a debt linked to a fake Rolex watch in the United Kingdom, a murder trial has heard. Khaleed Oladipo, a 20-year-old De Montfort University (DMU) student, died on 3 February 2026 after being stabbed five times in the chest in Oxford Street, Leicester. Harper Dennis, an 18-year-old University of Leicester student, is on trial at Leicester Crown Court, denying murder.
Attack Over Perceived Debt
Prosecutor Jane Osborne KC told the court that Oladipo and Dennis knew each other through online gaming and had been friends, but their relationship soured over money. "They had previously been friends," said Osborne. "But there had been a falling out, seemingly over money that, at the very least, Harper Dennis perceived was owed to him by Khaleed Oladipo." The friendship deteriorated after Dennis attempted to sell a fake Rolex watch given to him by Oladipo, an effort that failed.
On the night of the attack, at about 17:00 GMT, Oladipo left his girlfriend's flat carrying a plastic bag of leftover snacks and was on the phone to her while walking back to his accommodation to watch football. Outside the DMU Innovation Centre in Oxford Street, Dennis, who CCTV showed walking up and down in the busy area, met him. "It took less than 30 seconds for the two men to come together, to struggle and for the defendant to leave," Osborne told the court.
Fatal Stabbing and Aftermath
Oladipo's girlfriend heard him say "why did you come up and stab me?" over the phone before asking her to call an ambulance. A post-mortem examination revealed six wounds: five to the chest, including one that penetrated his heart, and one to his thumb. The stabbing was captured on a passing car's dashcam, shown to the court. The driver recalled seeing "a snowstorm of feathers" from one of their puffer jackets.
Dennis fled with his face covered. Passers-by gave chest compressions to Oladipo before police and paramedics arrived. Despite being taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary, he was pronounced dead just over an hour after the attack. Ambulance crews found a black folding knife on the ground at the scene.
Arrest and Evidence
That evening, police arrested Dennis at his accommodation in Bath Lane, Leicester, and seized his mobile, which he refused to hand over the PIN code for. A search of his flat found four knives: two standard kitchen knives, a 25cm knife with a double-bladed tip in a sheath, and a Kombat Tactical knife with serration. He had given a flatmate a black bin bag to keep and put out with her rubbish, which officers later found contained the clothing CCTV showed Dennis wearing at the time.
After a no comment interview, Dennis provided a statement admitting he was present but claimed self-defence. Police investigations found the pair fell out over the attempted sale of a fake Rolex watch, which Dennis took to a jewellers in Hatton Garden in Camden, London, and "was laughed at". Osborne said Oladipo had told a friend he had been followed around Leicester in November and December.
Threats and Financial Records
Dennis made two anonymous, threatening phone calls to Oladipo's girlfriend on Christmas Day 2025, saying Oladipo was "a bad guy" and owed £3,000. In January, Oladipo told a friend he was "angry about it" but also "scared of the other man". Snapchat messages confirmed the souring relationship, with Dennis saying he would "dedicate his life to making sure Mr Oladipo suffers for what he did."
Financial records showed transfers between the two starting in December 2024, with the final one on Christmas Day 2025 from Oladipo to Dennis for 60p, sent with the reference "5999 to go". Dennis, of Bath Lane, Leicester, denies murder, possession of a bladed article, and failing to comply with a Section 49 notice to disclose his phone code. The trial, expected to last three weeks, continues.
