University lecturer stabbed to death in random attack as he walked to work
A YOUNG man was stabbed to death in a ‘motiveless’ attack just minutes after leaving home for his new ‘dream job’ as a university lecturer.
Daniel Young, 30, was ambushed as he took a short cut through a park to a Tube station.
Commuters discovered him with serious injuries, but desperate attempts to resuscitate him failed. Police are investigating whether the attack was linked to another stabbing less than a mile away 30 minutes earlier.
A 23-year-old man is in hospital after he was knifed in the buttocks in a similarly motiveless assault.
Police are questioning a 26-year-old man, believed to live nearby, on suspispeak. cion of murder. He was originally held for wasting police time.
The attack took place a short distance from the home Mr Young shared with two flatmates in Morden, SouthWest London.
He had recently quit his job of four years as a hotel manager in Wimbledon to start a new role at the University of Coventry’s London campus.
He had beaten off competition from 100 candidates to win the role as a lecturer in hospitality.
But on Tuesday morning, his second day, he left home at 8am and took a short cut through Kendor Gardens where he was confronted by the killer. Murder squad detectives are investigating exactly what happened next but believe it could be linked to the earlier stabbing.
Speaking at her home in Wimbledon, the father of Mr Young’s girlfriend, Ellen Ball, 22, said she was too upset to The couple enjoyed a holiday in Greece last June and friends said they had been together for ‘some time’.
Mr Young, a sports fan who enjoyed endurance running events, is one of three brothers from Paignton, in Devon. Speaking at their family home yesterday, his brother Christopher, 32, said his parents had travelled to London and were too upset to speak.
Neighbours described Mr Young as a ‘lovely young man’.
One said his father, Stephen, 52, was a former Royal Marine bandsman.
‘Daniel was delighted with the new job, he beat 100 applicants and he was surprised to get it,’ he said. ‘He was an absolutely lovely lad, the whole family are. They all work hard and he was very close with his brothers. It is an absolute tragedy.’
Friends described Mr Young as an ‘inspirational’ figure and generous mentor who had just started his ‘dream job’.
Mr Young had worked as a general manager for Antoinette Hotels since May 2012. One colleague, Salam, who worked as barman at the hotel, said: ‘He was the best boss you could hope to work for. I’m very sad to hear about his death.’
He added: ‘He was very close to everyone, he really was great and always had time for you.’
In one touching tribute left outside Kendor Gardens, a colleague at the Antoinette Hotel in Wimbledon said: ‘You will always be remembered for being such a good friend and boss. You took the time to develop everyone even if they didn’t have the confidence, you wouldn’t give up.
‘Everyone at the hotel will miss you. It’s just so sad you never got the chance to go on to do the job that you were so excited to be starting.’
Dr Janet Hannah, of Coventry University’s London campus, said: ‘We are saddened to hear the news about Daniel Young who had just started a role as a teaching fellow.
‘Daniel was at the start of what would undoubtedly have been a very successful academic career. It is a tragedy that he never got the opportunity to fulfil his potential. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.’
Det Chief Insp Cliff Lyons, who is leading the inquiry, described it as an ‘unprovoked attack’ on a man ‘simply going about his daily business’.
‘Absolute tragedy’