THREE violent men have been jailed for a combined 68 years after using “an arsenal of knives” to hack a dad to death.
Gregory Catillo Volquez, 36, had been out at night with his friends in north London when he was murdered in January 2025.
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Yesterday, Benito Ramirez Kones, 20, and 22-year-old Carlos Akum Metumbe, of Spain, and Italian national, Luiggi Perelli Santana, 23, were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court.
The “wicked” trio, who did not know Gregory, seemingly randomly attacked him with a machete and a crutch out of sight of CCTV.
A murder investigation was launched when Gregory was found lying in the street, dying from 22 stab wounds.
The post-mortem found many of the fatal injuries were caused by a long knife, as well as bruises from a blunt object.
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Cops hunted the killers and detained Kones in Swansea, five days after the attack, where his trainers were seized and traces of Gregory’s blood was found on them.
Metumbe and Santana managed to flee to Spain, but were traced by cops and extradited back to the UK in August and October 2025.
They were both captured on CCTV raining blows on Gregory with a machete and the crutch, and Santana’s bloody fingerprints were identified on the crutch and knife.
In court, the judge told the defendants: “In your evidence the two of you each attempted to restrict your involvement in this offence to what you considered could be proved against you from the CCTV footage and forensic evidence.
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“Apart from your admission to limited involvement with a machete in the initial stages of the events, by you, Mr Metumbe… none of you accepted repeatedly stabbing the deceased with the arsenal of knives which was subsequently seized by the police.”
All three men were found guilty of murder and each given a life sentence for their horrific crime.
Kones and Santana must serve a minimum of 23 years, while Metumbe, 22 must serve a minimum of 22 years.
In a victim impact statement read out to the court, Gregory’s partner, Teresa said: “We have a daughter, a little girl, who misses her dad.
“She asks for him, she still expects to see him coming back. She needs his hugs, his words, and his presence.
“It is very painful to see a little girl suffering the absence of her father and how she tries to understand why he is not with us.
“They robbed her of the opportunity to grow up beside him, to share her birthdays, graduations and all the important moments of her life.
She added: “This tragedy not only destroyed our lives, but also broke the heart of a mother, who lost her only son.
“There are no words that can describe the suffering of this mother who had to say goodbye to her son in such a cruel and unjust way.
“Our family has been marked forever.”
Detective Inspector Jim Barry, who led the investigation, said: “Our thoughts go to Gregory’s loved ones who have demonstrated commendable togetherness and strength throughout this turbulent process.
“I know nothing will bring him home but am hopeful that this result offers justice and closure for his family, who have been left without a much-loved dad, brother, and son.
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“Our team of officers showed huge tenacity to build a solid case with undisputable forensic evidence which resulted in these violent men being taken off our streets for a long, long time.
“It’s this hard work that is enabling the force to secure a positive outcome from 95 per cent of our murder investigations.”