Friend who helped Bexley murderer escape is jailed

Richard Ray drove Tony Curant from Bexley to Dartford after receiving a call saying “I’ve just killed the missus”. 

Curant stabbed Leila Young 57 times while their terrified kids hid in the room next door. 

Ray also hid phones Curant had taken from their kids, and later brought the killer cocaine while he hid in a Dartford brothel. 

Text messages revealed that Ray sent another friend a screenshot of a news article titled “woman fighting for life after Bexley stabbing” alongside a message saying “no bulls***” with laughing emojis. 

On Tuesday (August 8) Ray, 34, from Swanley, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for perverting the course of justice. 

He has already served nearly half of that sentence on remand, meaning he will be released in just a few weeks. 

Killer Tony Curant (Image: Met Police)

‘I’ve just killed the missus’ 

On Friday (August 2) Curant was jailed for life with a minimum of 21 years, though that minimum sentence was later reduced to 20 years. 

Wood Green Crown Court previously heard that in the days before her death 33-year-old Leila described Curant as “the biggest bully she had ever met” and said their relationship was over.   

At around 4pm on January 17, Curant phoned 999 and said Leila had been stabbed and was “basically dead”.   

When emergency services arrived Curant answered the door and told them Leila was upstairs. They found Leila in a pool of blood in their bedroom, Ms Oakley said.   

Leila told paramedics: “Please save me. I can’t feel my body. Tony done it.”   

Their children were found in the next room. When they were found they asked “is mum still alive” and told officers their dad had taken their phones so they couldn’t call for help.   

Leila died in hospital a week later, on January 23. 

As emergency services ran into their home on Penhill Road, Curant took the opportunity to flea.    

He phoned Ray and told him: “I’ve killed the missus.”    

Ray claimed he didn’t think this was true and that Curant was just “off his f***ing nut”.  

Ray picked Curant up on Blackfen Drive, stopped at Tesco for cigarettes and alcohol, drove past the scene on Penhill Road, then dropped Curant off in Dartford.     

As they drove past the scene on Penhill Road Ray said Curant told him Leila was either “dead or paralysed”. 

The scene of the murder on Penhill Road (Image: NQ) Ray also texted another friend asking if he could drop Curant off at his house.  

He sent the friend a screenshot of a news article titled “woman fighting for life after Bexley stabbing” alongside a message saying “no bullshit” with a smiling and laughing emoji, prosecutor Louise Oakley said.  

The friend said no and Curant was instead housed in a brothel in Dartford until he was arrested on January 20.   

During that time Ray picked up drugs on behalf of Curant, Ms Oakley said.  

When Ray was arrested he told police he almost flashed a police car and to tell them what was going on but was “s***ing himself” so bottled it and went to KFC instead. 

Defending Ray, barrister Jade Gambrill said her client’s relationship with Curant was transactional rather than a friendship. 

Ray was a substance abuser and had been buying drugs from Curant. 

Ms Gambrill said Ray was scared of Curant, who threatened him in the past. 

Additionally, she argued that Ray did not initially believe Curant had actually killed Leila but there was a “horrifying dawning realisation of the level of seriousness” as it became clear what had happened. 

Ms Gambrill also pointed out that Curant had only been in Ray’s car for 25 minutes, and that he immediately told police where the phones were when he was arrested. 

Sentencing Ray, Judge Aaronberg said there was plenty of evidence available to Ray that Curant had at least seriously injured Leila. 

Curant told him “I’ve just killed the missus” and “she’s either dead or paralysed”, he had blood on his clothes and helicopters were circling Bexley. 

Judge Aaronberg said: “From the state of him, it must have been clear he had at the very least seriously injured her.” 

He sentenced Ray to 18 months in prison. 

“You will serve up to one half of that sentence in custody before you are released on licence,” the judge said. 

“The net result, Mr Ray, is that you will be released in the next few weeks.”