A student has been found guilty of manslaughter after stabbing his former friend outside the De Montfort University
- LM News
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A student has been found guilty of manslaughter after stabbing his former friend outside the De Montfort University campus.
Harper Dennis, aged 19, repeatedly stabbed Khaleed Oladipo, aged 20, in the chest near De Montfort University in Leicester on the evening of Tuesday, February 3, this year.
Today at Leicester Crown Court, he was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter, possessing an offensive weapon, and failing to provide the PIN for his phone.
Dennis, of North Road in West Drayton, London, was sentenced to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment.
Leicestershire Police have released the following statement
A teenager has been jailed for killing De Montfort University student Khaleed Oladipo following a fatal stabbing in Leicester city centre.
Harper Dennis, 19, who was also a student in his first year at the University of Leicester, was convicted of manslaughter today (Tuesday 25 August) after a trial at Leicester Crown Court.
He was also found guilty of possession of an offensive weapon and one count of failing to provide his PIN number under Section 49 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).
He was sentenced to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment.
Mr Oladipo, a third-year cyber security student, was stabbed by Dennis shortly after 5pm on 3 February this year in Oxford Street, Leicester.
Despite the efforts of members of the public who came to the aid of the 20-year-old and medical professionals, he died in hospital later that evening.
During the investigation, led by detectives from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit’s (EMSOU) major crime team, officers pieced together vital evidence from witnesses, CCTV, dash cam footage and forensic examinations.
This helped prove that Dennis had taken the knife with him that evening and stabbed Mr Oladipo five times to the chest.
Immediately after the incident Dennis ran from the scene but thanks to fast-track enquiries by officers on the evening of the killing, he was arrested from his nearby student accommodation within a few hours.
Working meticulously through hours of CCTV footage, detectives were able to track Dennis’s movements from the time he left his room at 4.46pm and then parts of the route he took before encountering Mr Oladipo in Oxford Street.
Only moments before the incident, Mr Oladipo was seen on CCTV leaving his girlfriend’s accommodation and walking along Oxford Street towards the city centre.
The incident itself was not captured on CCTV as the camera on the opposite side was blocked by the high volume of traffic travelling along the road.
But a passing motorist recorded crucial evidence of the incident on her dash cam – showing the two men grappling and falling to the ground where Dennis then stabbed Mr Oladipo a number of times. The footage also captured Dennis fleeing the scene and the injured Mr Oladipo kneeling on the floor before collapsing.
Further CCTV footage then showed Dennis running from the scene immediately afterwards and returning to his accommodation – only 22 minutes after he had first left.
Following the incident, a number of witnesses came forward and provided accounts which also helped detectives build a detailed picture.
Crucially, officers also recovered the knife used at the scene. Forensic examination of swabs taken from the knife showed that DNA recovered from the handle matched Dennis, while blood recovered from the blade matched Mr Oladipo.
Following Dennis’s arrest, police searched his room and were handed a black bin bag by a fellow student. This bag contained the clothing Dennis was wearing during the incident.
Dennis had asked the student to dispose of the black bag in the outside communal bins without telling her what was inside.
With the suspect in custody, police also began to build up a picture of the relationship between the two men and to identify any motive for the incident.
Examination of Mr Oladipo’s phone, which had been handed to police by his girlfriend, confirmed the two men knew each other and were part of a Snapchat group with two other men.
Messages recovered from this group, as well as private messages between the two of them and information provided by Mr Oladipo’s girlfriend pointed towards the motive being a monetary dispute – with threats being made by Dennis towards Mr Oladipo and his girlfriend in the weeks leading up to the incident.
Detectives were unable to examine Dennis’s phone after he refused to supply police with his PIN number – an offence he has been found guilty of as part of the trial.
Throughout his police interviews Dennis remained silent – only providing a prepared statement stating he acted in self-defence.
Detective Inspector Lorna Granville, the senior investigating officer, said: “At the heart of this investigation is a family who have lost a loving son and brother.
“They have remained supportive and engaged with police in what has been an extremely difficult and traumatic six months. Our thoughts remain with them, and I thank them for their assistance during this investigation.
“I would like to thank the witnesses in this case, including those who stopped to help Mr Oladipo, provided vital evidence, gave statements to police and attended court to give evidence during the trial.
“I also want to acknowledge the support provided by De Montfort University during this investigation.
“Through extensive CCTV enquiries, crucial dashcam footage, detailed forensic examination and information provided by witnesses who came forward, we were able to build a clear picture of Dennis’s actions before, during and after the incident.
"This incident highlights the very real dangers of carrying a knife and choosing to use it. Dennis’s actions and the choices he made in those few seconds has resulted in devastating consequences and the death of a young man with his whole life ahead of him.”
For information about and support relating to knife crime, visit:
Leicestershire Police News - Published: 16:46 25/08/2026
