Samuel Guidera Unsolved Murder
Greenwich University student stabbed to death after an evening watching football with his friends.
Sam Guidera was just 24 when he became a victim of robbery and was ultimately murdered on Saturday, February 12th, 2011
Mr. Guidera was found collapsed at a bus stop close to the junction of Bailey Place and Newlands Park, approximately 200 yards from Penge East Station SE26. His wallet had been stolen and he had been stabbed through the heart.
Samuel was a student at Greenwich University where he was studying politics and history with a view to becoming a teacher. It seems that the killer may have grabbed his attention by asking him to use his mobile phone. Indeed just moments before his death a call to an unknown number had been made from his phone, but the number; 07404 776433 was never traced.
Curiously the mobile phone had not been stolen, yet Police say that it was “a completely unprovoked attack”
There appears to be no reason for the killing, except robbery as the young man had spent the day watching football on TV with some friends and was on route to meet his girlfriend when tragedy struck. The young man was carrying a pink T-Mobile bag at the time of the attack, but only his wallet seemed to have been stolen.
The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Chris Jones said that he believed the answer to the murder lies locally in and around Penge but I am not quite so sure.
You see; Mr. Guidera had just arrived on the 21.17 train from Bickley to East Penge, arriving at approximately 21.31 in order to make his way to a meeting with his girlfriend. My feeling is that he may well have been followed on the train or indeed someone may have lain in wait for him when he arrived.
He made his way over the footbridge, where he was seen on CCTV to the Newlands Park exit of the station. Ashort time later he was found by passersby fatally wounded and dying.
It seems just a bit too much of a coincidence that a young man caught a train and made just a short journey to be met by a chance robber and killer such a short distance from the station. I agree it is possible but I can’t help but feel it the whole incident had more planning behind it.
The train which Samuel traveled on had begun its journey from London Victoria to Orpington and police have appealed via Crimestoppers for passengers on that train
CRIMESTOPPERS
After an appeal on BBC Crimewatch, a male called Crimestoppers anonymously on March 1st, 2011 at 1225 BST, which police said may be crucial to the outcome of the murder enquiry, but despite a public appeal the caller never called back.
During the course of the investigation into this tragic murder a total of three men aged 18, 28, and 39 were arrested but all were released on bail and eventually excused from the investigation without charge.
Despite the passing of more than eleven years with over a thousand leads having been investigated, hundreds of hours of CCTV footage being examined and some 900 people being spoken to, police are no nearer to discovering who killed Samuel Guidera.
Sam’s parents, Sarah & Chris say that they had “Started a life sentence” from the day that their son was murdered
They said: “We really need justice for Sam. Although this won’t make any difference to the loss we feel, we will at least have some closure.
“From the moment Samuel was murdered on the 12 February 2011, we as his parents started a life sentence from which we will never be released.
“As parents we have seen the devastation and heartbreak it has caused Sam’s brother and sister, other family members and friends.
“We just want somebody out there who knows something that could help in the apprehending of the killers to come forward so they do not have the opportunity to take another person’s life and destroy another family.
“So we miss and think of him so much every single day, we cry, we love him so much.
“Time is not a healer, we will never get back to normal; the people we were before no longer exist.
“So please look at your son, brother, uncle, think how you would miss them and if you know anything come forward; don’t let the cowards who took my son’s life kill again.”
I am interested in this case as I really believe that there is a bit more to this puzzle that the police have not seen fit to look at, in that it was not simply an unplanned, random robbery that went wrong.
I will be back with another case for you really soon, until then. . .
If you know anything about this incident that can help the police then please contact the incident room on 020 8345 3734 or the police on 101. You can of course also contact Crimestoppers completely anonymously on 0800 555 111
If you do have any thoughts on this case or indeed any unsolved case that you’d like to talk to me about please get in touch
Email: lolly.truecrime@gmail.com
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