Killer who stabbed and tried to rob man is jailed

A man who murdered a 19-year-old man then asked an AI app on his phone for legal advice has been given a life sentence.

Musa Salih, of Greenford in London, was convicted in October of stabbing Harley Purdue seven times during a late-night attempted robbery in Chatham, Kent on 2 December 2025.

Salih, who Kent Police have said is an Eritrean national, tried to lock his victim in a toilet in a property where they both stayed so he could steal his money. Purdue died in his pregnant girlfriend's arms.

At Maidstone Crown Court, Judge Saxby KC told Salih, 19, he must serve a minimum term of 25 years.

The court heard Salih was in Chatham to deal Class A drugs and wanted cash to pay for a taxi to travel back to London to see his girlfriend.

Salih also attempted to attack Purdue's partner, Hazel Gadsden, after she tried to intervene. She was pregnant at the time with Purdue's baby.

Kent Police said a review of Salih's phone after his arrest showed he had asked an AI app for legal advice and updates about the incident.

In a victim-impact statement read to the court, Gadsden said: "What you did I can never forgive.

"Every time I close my eyes I am taken back to the night you brutally took Harley's life.

"You stole Harley from his family and most importantly from his child."

Salih's defence team said he had expressed "regret and horror" at the loss of life and never intended to kill.

He had indefinite leave to remain in the UK, according to his lawyers, and will be subject to deportation proceedings after serving his sentence.

Kent Police's Det Sgt Alastair Worton said the fatal attack had "left a young man's family and friends heartbroken and in grief".

"Our thoughts remain with Harley's loved ones, whose strength and dignity throughout our investigation and the court proceedings has been commendable," he said.

"I hope today's sentence brings them some closure and a sense that justice has been done."

Purdue's family said in a statement that they wanted him to be "remembered as the fun, loving, gentle giant that he was".

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