Kai McGinley Erith Shooting: Seven men jailed

The 24-year-old was shot dead after the car he was in was deliberately rammed on Pembroke Road last February.

The jury heard that around 8.45pm, Kai and two friends were driving along Pembroke Road in a Mini Countryman when a Land Rover and Peugeot travelling in the opposite direction came into view.

The Land Rover deliberately struck the Mini and it came off the road.

The men in the Land Rover jumped out of the vehicle as it was severely damaged.

The men in the Peugeot then got out of the car and fired one or two shotguns at close range at the group in the Mini.

Kai was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other passengers in the car suffered minor injuries as they jumped from the car to get away from the attackers.

Kai McGinley (Image: MPS)

Through a detailed CCTV investigation, detectives were able to trace the men's steps.

It was revealed that after the murder, the group hid in a garage belonging to Bradlee Reeve, one of those convicted, as they waited for a family member to come and get them.

Seven people were charged between March and September 2023.

They were later convicted and sentenced as follows:

Bradlee Reeve, 34, of Chapman Road, Erith was convicted of murder, and section 18 GBH and was sentenced to life, with a minimum term of 33 years.

Enriko Spahiu, 21, of Elmhurst, Belvedere was convicted of murder and section 18 GBH. He was sentenced to life, with a minimum term of 29 years.

Kai Osibodu, 25, of Riverdale Road, Erith was convicted of murder and section 18 GBH. Osibodu was sentenced to life, with a minimum term of 30 years.

Jalees Selby-Gangera, 19, of Woodfield Close, Erith was convicted of manslaughter. Selby-Gangera was sentenced to nine and a half years.

Connor Brooks, 22, of Horsa Road, Erith was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years.

Charlie Brabon, 19, of Byron Drive, Erith was convicted of manslaughter. Brabon was sentenced to nine years.

Anthony Wallder, 21, was convicted of murder and section 18 GBH.

Wallder was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 29 years.

On Monday, July 8, Lena McGinley, Kai’s mum, told the Old Bailey: "Kai was my youngest child and only son.

“It gives me no pleasure standing before the court to make this statement, but it is my truth.

“My boy Kai was 24 years old when he went out one day and he didn’t come home. I can’t explain how hard it was to tell my girls he had been killed, not by accident but at the hands of others.”

Lena described her son as an up-and-coming rap artist who was gifted beyond his years. “I’ve still got a half-written song that I found after my son died, which broke me because he didn’t get to complete it,” she said.

Lena said her son was caring, compassionate, humble and had an infectious zest for life.

Lena added that Kai will be celebrated for the way he lived, not the way he died. Kai’s sister, Kelly, echoed this, saying: “My brother will never be just another statistic. He was our world, and we were his.

“He was fiercely protective and if he loved you, he loved you wholeheartedly. “He had a way of making people feel like they were somebody even if they didn’t feel like that themselves.”

During the trial at the Old Bailey on Monday, July 8, Prosecutor Brian O’Neill KC said the prosecution’s case is that Kai’s murder took place against the background of drug dealing.

While they could not pinpoint an exact motive, he said: “The court can be sure that his murder was related to the involvement of him and his friends in drug dealing, and the involvement of most of the defendants in drug dealing in the same geographic area.”

He said the murder involved a “significant degree of planning”. Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Payne, who leads one of the Met’s specialist major investigation teams, said: “The evidence gathered and presented during the trial left the jury in no doubt that these men were guilty of a sinister plan to kill Kai McGinley.

“We believe there was a dispute over a drugs deal, and they decided the retribution for Kai should be death.

“It is extremely sad and senseless that Kai lost his life in this way. He was part of a close and loving family who miss him every day. Our thoughts and condolences remain with them as they try to piece their lives back together without him.”