Nicholas John Hanscomb

Nicholas Hanscomb was stabbed to death at the Notting Hill Carnival at around 10.15pm on 25 August 1991.

He was stabbed in the groin with a Rambo style knife in Fernhead Road. The wound severed the femoral artery in his left thigh.

He had been leaving the event when he had got involved in an argument with some youths. Witnesses said that they saw six men standing around him before one of them stabbed him in the groin.

He staggered about 100 yards and then fell into the arms of a policeman and was taken to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington but died three hours later from massive blood loss.

The police said that they were looking for a gang of black youths aged between 16 and 20 who were thought to have been arguing with Nicholas Hanscomb before he was stabbed. They said there were six black men and two black girls, and that one of the men had been dressed in a baseball cap and T-shirt, both with the Washington Redskins emblems.

The police also appealed for anyone that had been around the Libido float on the Sunday evening around 10pm to come forward, saying that they wanted to speak to both people on it, or who had been dancing around it.

The police later appealed for a black woman that was seen standing near the place where Nicholas Hanscomb was stabbed to come forward in case she had any information that could help. She was described as being aged 18 to 25, with bobbed hair and wearing a black and white diagonally striped lycra cycling outfit.

Three woman that were standing nearby eventually came forward, but the murderer was not identified.

The police said that they had studied thousands of hours of video tape and later released three stills of the revellers.

Several people were arrested in connection with the murder, including a 16-year-old youth around 28 August 1991. A 24-year-old man was arrested in Brighton on 21 October 1991, but later ruled out of the investigation.

However, in September 1992, the police said that they were satisfied that they knew who murdered him, but they didn't have enough evidence to prosecute. They said that they had had to let them slip through their fingers because key witnesses refused to give evidence on the record. A detective said, 'We've really finished the investigation. A number of men were brought in. We are satisfied we got the right men, but there is not enough evidence to convicted them. We had a mystery caller who could have helped us greatly, we had a couple of meet-ups, but he never showed. We just couldn't connect them formally. All the evidence we received from many people worked. It all fits, but these people won't go on record because they fear reprisals'.

Nicholas Hanscomb had been following the procession with other members of his religious sect and had been following the Libido float as it was leaving the main carnival.

The carnival was otherwise noted as being one of the most peaceful carnivals on record. It was said that about a million people attended the carnival and that about 55 crimes were reported, including four stabbings and that 60 people had been arrested, which was described as a drop compared to the previous year.

However, a local councillor said that it was unfair for the murder to be blamed on the carnival community, stating that Nicholas Hanscomb was stabbed two miles from the centre of the carnival and that there was no way that they should have to take responsibility for it.

A police chief superintendent said that he had been pleased with the way the festival went, saying, 'There have been one or two disappointing events, but overall we are very encouraged'.

Nicholas Hanscomb was a Dr of science and had been involved in the development of the DNA genetic fingerprint test and at the time had been researching tinnitus, which causes ringing in the ears. He had a PhD in physics and biology, a double first from Cambridge in molecular biology and a doctorate in genetic engineering.

He had lived in Highgate, London, at the time.