Student Claims Self-Defence in Fatal Stabbing Over Alleged Fraud Dispute

A tragic confrontation between two university students that ended in a fatal stabbing was triggered by a dispute over a £6,000 investment scam, a court has heard.

Khaleed Oladipo, a 20-year-old student at De Montfort University (DMU), lost his life on the evening of his death after being confronted outside the DMU Innovation Centre. Prosecutors told the jury that the entire incident—from the initial meeting to the fatal attack—lasted less than 30 seconds.

The victim had been walking back to his accommodation while speaking to his girlfriend on the phone, carrying a bag of snacks, when he was intercepted by the defendant, Isaac Dennis. According to evidence presented in court, Oladipo’s girlfriend heard the victim’s final moments in real-time, recalling him asking, “Why did you come up and stab me?” before desperately pleading for her to call an ambulance.

A post-mortem examination revealed the severity of the attack, which resulted in six separate wounds. Five of these were to the chest, including a fatal injury that penetrated his heart, alongside a defensive wound to his thumb. Despite being rushed to Leicester Royal Infirmary, Oladipo was pronounced dead just over an hour later.

Taking the stand in his own defence on Wednesday, Dennis, a first-year business management student at the University of Leicester, claimed he acted in self-defence. He alleged that Oladipo was the one who brandished a knife and that he was merely “wrestling” to prevent the older student from killing him.

The court heard that the violent encounter was the culmination of a failed financial scheme. Dennis testified that Oladipo had introduced him to “ways you can make money” through online fraud. Enticed by the promise of large profits, Dennis transferred £6,000 to Oladipo, using his own savings and funds provided by his parents.

When the promised returns failed to materialize, Dennis claimed that Oladipo provided him with a Rolex watch as collateral, insisting it was authentic and could be sold to recoup his losses. However, upon taking the timepiece to jewelers in London’s Hatton Garden, Dennis was told the watch was a fake.

“Two jewellers looked at the watch, they examined it and realised it was fake,” Dennis told the jury. “It made me feel a bit annoyed, bit kind of disappointed in Khaleed that he let me down.”

The prosecution maintains that the CCTV evidence, which captured Dennis walking up and down the “busy” area prior to the arrival of the victim, contradicts his version of events.

The trial into the stabbing continues as the jury considers the conflicting accounts of the final moments of a life lost over a dispute involving thousands of pounds.