On Friday, 16 May, at the Old Bailey, Shakeil Thibou was given a life sentence. He must serve a minimum of 29 years, less the 261 days he has spent on remand, before he will be eligible for release.
He was caught on camera stabbing a mother in front of her three-year-old daughter at last year’s Notting Hill Carnival and has been found guilty of murder.
Cher Maximen, who was 32, was with friends and her daughter just off the Carnival parade route on Sunday, 25 August 2024, when she was caught up in a fight involving multiple men. She was stabbed and died in the hospital six days later.
On Wednesday, 9 April at the Old Bailey, Shakeil Thibou, 20, of Masbro’ Road, Hammersmith and Fulham, was convicted of Cher’s murder, attempted GBH with intent and possession of an offensive weapon.
Vyleen Maximen, Cher’s grandmother, said, “Cher, my firstborn grandchild, my friend. I held you in my arms when you were born. 32 years of loving, of laughing, playing, crying and holidaying with you. I will no longer have that pleasure ever again. Not seeing you get married or have more children.
“Life will never be the same. Ever. We just have to live life, the best that we can and I will raise your daughter Cher, until my last breath. I will never hear your key opening my front door and shouting ‘Hello Nanny’.”
The court heard that Cher had spent the afternoon with her daughter and her friends among a crowd in Golborne Road, which was just off the parade route.
Just before 6:00 p.m., a fight broke out in the crowd. CCTV and police officers’ body-worn video footage shown during the trial shows Shakeil attempting to stab a man in the abdomen. Cher was caught up in the melee and knocked to the floor, grabbing onto Shakeil’s coat as she tried to get back to her feet.
In an effort to defend herself and her daughter, Cher kicked out and was stabbed in the groin as she did so, falling to the ground.
Officers rushed to her aid and provided emergency medical treatment until the arrival of paramedics. She was transported to the hospital in a critical condition, but despite the efforts of medical teams, she died on Saturday, 31 August.
Video footage showed that moments before Cher was stabbed, Shakeil’s brothers —Sheldon Thibou and Shaeim Thibou, along with an unidentified male, fought with one man.
Sheldon can be seen wielding an illegal stun gun. An officer who intervened to try to break up the fight was assaulted by both brothers.
The three brothers and an associate fled the scene, but CCTV footage recovered during the investigation showed that Shakeil, when leaving the carnival, was captured on CCTV changing his outer clothing with an associate and calmly making his way out of the area.
An investigation started immediately after the incident, with officers running images captured on body-worn video cameras through facial recognition software, revealing a match for Sheldon and Shaeim Thibou.
Further research identified Shakeil.
A significant manhunt was launched, which saw officers search a number of addresses across west London.
Shakeil was found lying on the floor under a sleeping bag when officers found him in the early hours of Tuesday, 27 August. During a search of the address, they found a distinctive bag he had been seen wearing on footage captured at Carnival.
His jacket had been discarded at the scene after it came off in the struggle. It was sent for forensic testing, and the DNA found on it was a one-in-a-billion match for Shakeil — further proof that he had committed the stabbing.
Detectives would also spend weeks trawling through hundreds of additional hours of CCTV and body-worn video footage, as well as messages on mobile phones recovered at the time of the brothers’ arrest.
This helped to further establish a watertight case that Shakeil and his brothers were at the carnival at the time of Cher’s murder.
Sheldon Thibou, 25, of Star Road, Hammersmith and Fulham and Shaeim Thibou, 22, of Charleville Road, Hammersmith and Fulham, stood trial alongside their brother.
Sheldon was found guilty of violent disorder. He had also previously pleaded guilty to the possession of an illegal stun gun. Sheldon and Shaeim were both found guilty of assaulting an emergency worker.
Sheldon will be sentenced in due course at a court that is yet to be confirmed.
