Three men sentenced to total of 68 years in prison over Harringay murder

Young father Gregory Volquez was stabbed 22 times in Harringay in January 2025

Killers Metumbe, Santana and Kones (left) and (right) victim Gregory Volquez

Three violent men will serve a collective total of 68 years in prison after they were convicted of murder.

At the end of a trial in May this year, Benito Ramirez Kones, aged 20 and of De Beauvoir Estate in Hackney, plus Carlos Akum Metumbe, aged 22 and of Lower Clapton Road in Hackney, were convicted of murdering Gregory Volquez at Southwark Crown Court alongside Italian national Luiggi Perelli Santana, aged 22 and of Brixton Hill, Lambeth.

The violent trio were sentenced at the same court on Friday (4th).

Kones was sentenced to serve a minimum of 23 years, Metumbe a minimum of 22 years, and Santana a minimum of 23 years.

Gregory, who was only 36 when he was killed, was pronounced dead in the middle of Tiverton Road in the Harringay Warehouse District at around 5am on Monday, 13th January 2025. He had been stabbed 22 times.

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.”

A trial held earlier this year heard that Gregory was tragically pronounced dead in Tiverton Road. The police investigation found that Gregory knew the three men who carried out the violent attack.

Of the three, Kones was detained five days after the attack in Swansea. Kones’ trainers, which were seen on CCTV, were seized upon arrest and forensic evidence confirmed they were covered in traces of Gregory’s blood.

While two of the three killers, Metumbe and Santana, did succeed in leaving the country, the pair were traced to Spain and were respectively extradited by Met officers in August and October 2025.

Both Metumbe and Santana were captured on CCTV reigning blows on Gregory with a machete and crutch.

Gregory’s post-mortem examination stated that he had 22 stab wounds, many of which were caused by a long knife, as well as bruises that were caused by a blunt object. Forensic evidence supported the footage and Santana’s bloody fingerprints were identified on both the crutch and large knife.

Detective Inspector Jim Barry, who led the investigation, said: “Our skilled team of officers showed huge tenacity to build a solid case with undisputable forensic evidence which resulted in three violent men being taken off our streets.

“It’s this hard work that is enabling the force to secure a positive outcome from 95 per cent of our murder investigations. I hope that this result offers a morsel of justice and closure of Gregory’s family, who have been left without a much-loved dad, brother and son.”

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