A killer was identified by a single fingerprint and arrested just days later after fleeing London to another city.

Liban Ali was tracked by Metropolitan Police detectives after stabbing 44-year-old Andre Foster in a flat in Kilburn.

Police were called to Gable Lodge, in Mowbray Road, Kilburn, at 9.55am on December 20, 2022. 

Andre Foster, also known as Andre Jacks, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ali later admitted that he had stabbed Andre in the neck during a fight.

Despite leaving the flat as Andre lay bleeding, Ali was tracked down in Nottingham and arrested just three days later by a team of Met officers.

Ali was quickly identified as the likely killer after forensics teams found a single fingerprint lifted from a sink in the bathroom of the Kilburn address.

Because Ali was known to police from previous multiple drug and weapons-related convictions, the fingerprint showed a match to Ali when searched on the police database.

Ali was arrested in Nottingham on December 23, 2022, and taken into police custody.

Liban Ali, 31, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 13 years in prison following a trial at the Old Bailey.

At the Old Bailey on Tuesday, 23 January, the prosecution had accepted a guilty plea of manslaughter. Ali also pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding in relation a separate matter.

At a previous hearing, he had also admitted to possession of a bladed article and two counts of supplying a Class A drug.

He received nine years for manslaughter, and four years for two counts of supplying a Class A drug, possession of an offensive weapon and unlawful wounding in relation to a separate matter.

Brent & Kilburn Times: Victim Andre FosterVictim Andre Foster (Image: Met Police)

Detective Inspector Jonny Newell, the investigating officer, said: “This is an extremely sad case of a man losing his life in a violent, unnecessary and sudden way. Ali accepted that he killed Andre in self-defence and also admitted a range of other offences.

“Ali is a criminal who causes harm to people, and he belongs in prison.

“Andre was very much loved by his family, who miss him terribly, and I hope that they can find some measure of comfort that the man who killed him will be behind bars for an extremely lengthy period of time.”