A jury at Leicester Crown Court has heard that De Montfort University student Khaleed Oladipo, 20, died after being stabbed five times in the chest during a confrontation rooted in a dispute over money. Harper Dennis, 18, a first-year student at the University of Leicester, denies murder in connection with the attack on Oxford Street on 3 February 2026. Prosecutor Jane Osborne KC told jurors the two men had once been friends but fell out over cash Dennis believed he was owed.
The killing was previously the subject of a murder investigation launched after the stabbing victim died in hospital, with detectives at the time saying they believed the attack had taken place near De Montfort Place and appealing for witnesses. That inquiry has now led to Dennis appearing before the court to answer the murder charge.
What happened during the attack?
Oladipo had left his girlfriend's flat at around 17:00 GMT carrying a bag of leftover snacks and was speaking to her on the phone as he walked back to his accommodation to watch football, the court heard. Osborne said that outside the DMU Innovation Centre on Oxford Street he was confronted by Dennis, who CCTV footage showed pacing the busy street beforehand.
"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.
Jurors heard that Oladipo's girlfriend, still on the phone, heard him ask "why did you come up and stab me?" before he told her to call an ambulance. A post-mortem examination found he had suffered six wounds in total — five to the chest, including one that penetrated his heart, and one to his thumb.
The moment was captured on a passing car's dashcam, shown to the court, with the driver recalling seeing "a snowstorm of feathers" as one of the men's puffer jackets was torn. Dennis fled the scene with his face covered, while passers-by began chest compressions on Oladipo until police and paramedics arrived. He was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary but was pronounced dead just over an hour after the attack. Ambulance crews recovered a black folding knife from the ground at the scene.
Police said Oladipo had been found collapsed on Oxford Street near Bonners Lane shortly after 5:00pm on 3 February, according to an earlier broadcaster report, before he later died in hospital from the stab wound to his chest.
What led to the falling out?
The court heard Dennis and Oladipo had become friends through online gaming and were part of a four-person group chat named Clownshow. Investigators established the relationship soured after Dennis attempted to sell a fake Rolex watch at a jewellers in Hatton Garden, London, and was "laughed at".
Osborne said Oladipo had told a friend he had been followed around Leicester in November and December 2025. On Christmas Day that year, Dennis is alleged to have made two anonymous, threatening phone calls to Oladipo's girlfriend, describing Oladipo as "a bad guy" who owed £3,000. By January, Oladipo told a friend he was "angry about it" but also "scared of the other man".
Snapchat messages reviewed by police showed the extent of the breakdown between the pair, with Dennis writing in one that he would "dedicate his life to making sure Mr Oladipo suffers for what he did". Financial records showed a series of transfers between the two beginning in December 2024, with the final payment sent by Oladipo to Dennis on Christmas Day 2025 — just 60p, accompanied by the reference "5999 to go".
What evidence has been presented to the court?
Officers arrested Dennis at his accommodation on Bath Lane in Leicester on the evening of the attack and seized his mobile phone, for which he refused to provide the PIN code. A search of his flat uncovered four knives: two standard kitchen knives, a 25cm knife with a double-bladed tip kept in a sheath, and a serrated Kombat Tactical knife.
The court heard Dennis had given a flatmate a black bin bag to dispose of with her household rubbish, which officers later discovered contained the clothing CCTV footage showed him wearing at the time of the attack. Following a no-comment police interview, Dennis submitted a written statement admitting he had been present during the confrontation but claiming he had acted in self-defence.
What is Dennis charged with?
Dennis, of Bath Lane in Leicester city centre, denies murder, possession of a bladed article, and failing to comply with a Section 49 notice requiring him to disclose his phone's PIN code. According to a local newspaper's report, he also faces charges of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and possessing two further offensive weapons at his home address.
What happens next?
The trial opened at Leicester Crown Court on Monday, 10 August 2026, according to the same local newspaper, and is expected to run for three weeks as prosecutors and the defence set out their competing accounts of the events on Oxford Street. Proceedings continue.
Key Facts
- Khaleed Oladipo, 20, a third-year De Montfort University student, died after being stabbed in Oxford Street, Leicester, on 3 February 2026.
- Harper Dennis, 18, a first-year University of Leicester student, denies murder, possession of a bladed article and failing to disclose his phone PIN.
- Prosecutors say the attack followed a falling out over a perceived £3,000 debt tied to a fake Rolex watch.
- A black folding knife was recovered at the scene; four further knives were found during a search of Dennis's flat.
- The trial began at Leicester Crown Court on 10 August 2026 and is expected to last three weeks.
