A 19-year-old student has been convicted of manslaughter after fatally stabbing his former friend in Leicester over a dispute involving a counterfeit luxury watch. Harper Dennis was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, possessing an offensive weapon, and failing to provide his phone's pin code following a two-week trial at Leicester Crown Court.
Dennis, a first-year business management student at the University of Leicester, attacked Khaleed Oladipo, 20, on the evening of 3 February 2026 near De Montfort University's Innovation Centre on Oxford Street. He inflicted five stab wounds to Oladipo's chest, one of which pierced his heart, plus an additional wound to his thumb. Dennis, of Bath Lane, Leicester, is due to be sentenced later on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Jane Osborne KC outlined to the jury that Dennis killed Oladipo, whom he had befriended through online gaming, because of what she described as a
"perceived debt". The fatal encounter was documented on dashcam footage and CCTV recordings.
On the day of his death, Oladipo departed his girlfriend's flat at approximately 17:00 GMT carrying a bag of leftover food and was in telephone contact with his girlfriend as he made his way back to his accommodation to watch football. Outside the DMU Innovation Centre, he encountered Dennis, who had been captured on CCTV moving back and forth in the busy area.
"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.
During the attack, Oladipo's girlfriend heard him ask over the phone
"why did you come up and stab me?"before requesting that she contact emergency services. A post-mortem examination confirmed he had sustained six wounds in total.
The Rolex dispute
According to ITV's reporting, Dennis told jurors during the trial that he had attempted to sell the watch in Hatton Garden, where two jewellers informed him it was counterfeit. This revelation formed a central part of the prosecution's case regarding the motive behind the killing.
Trial background
The case had attracted significant attention before the verdict was reached. The trial was scheduled to begin on 10 August and was expected to last three weeks, making it a major case within the Leicester Crown Court system. The guilty verdict on manslaughter, rather than murder, suggests the jury accepted that Dennis did not act with the specific intent required for a murder conviction, though his actions resulted in Oladipo's death.
What happens next
Dennis will return to court for sentencing on Tuesday. Court listings indicate a further hearing in the case is scheduled for 24 August 2026 at Leicester Crown Court before Judge Spencer KC, listed as a part-heard trial session.
Key facts
- Harper Dennis, 19, was convicted of manslaughter but acquitted of murder
- Khaleed Oladipo, 20, died from stab wounds to his chest on 3 February 2026
- The dispute centred on a counterfeit Rolex watch that Dennis had attempted to sell
- The attack lasted less than 30 seconds and was captured on CCTV and dashcam footage
- Dennis was also convicted of carrying an offensive weapon and failing to provide his phone's pin code
