A 19-year-old university student has been jailed for 10 years after fatally stabbing his former friend five times following a dispute involving thousands of pounds and a fake Rolex watch.

Harper Dennis was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on Tuesday, 25 August, after a jury found him guilty of the manslaughter of 20-year-old Khaleed Oladipo. Dennis was cleared of murder but was also convicted of possessing an offensive weapon and failing to provide police with the PIN to his phone.

The fatal confrontation happened shortly after 5pm on 3 February 2026 on Oxford Street in Leicester, close to De Montfort University’s Innovation Centre. Oladipo was a cyber security student at De Montfort University, while Dennis was in his first year studying business management at the University of Leicester. The pair had previously been friends after meeting through online gaming and were part of the same Snapchat group.

During the trial, Dennis told jurors that he had sent Oladipo £6,000 from savings and money given to him by his parents after the pair discussed making money through fraudulent schemes. Dennis said he expected to make a profit but did not receive his money back.

According to Dennis, Oladipo later gave him a Rolex watch and told him it was genuine, allowing him to sell it to recover the money. Dennis travelled to Hatton Garden in London to have the watch examined, where two jewellers determined it was fake. He told the court the discovery left him feeling annoyed and disappointed.

The court also heard evidence of tensions between the pair in the weeks before Oladipo’s death. Prosecutors said Dennis had threatened to expose Oladipo online as someone who could not be trusted, while messages recovered during the investigation pointed towards an ongoing monetary dispute.

On the evening of 3 February, the two encountered each other on Oxford Street. Dashcam footage from a passing motorist captured the pair grappling and falling to the ground before Dennis stabbed Oladipo repeatedly. Police said Oladipo suffered five stab wounds to his chest, with one penetrating his heart. He also sustained an injury to his hand.

Oladipo was reportedly on the phone with his girlfriend at the time. The court heard she heard him question why Dennis had approached and stabbed him. Members of the public attempted to help Oladipo before emergency services arrived, but he later died in hospital that evening.

Dennis fled the scene and returned to his nearby student accommodation. Police said CCTV tracked his movements and showed him returning just 22 minutes after he had initially left. A fellow student later handed officers a black bag containing the clothes Dennis had been wearing, after Dennis had allegedly asked her to dispose of it in communal bins. He was arrested within hours of the stabbing.

Dennis maintained that he had acted in self-defence, telling the court that Oladipo approached him with a knife and that he feared for his life. He claimed he did not leave his accommodation intending to find Oladipo and denied taking a knife with him. However, police said forensic evidence from the recovered knife matched Dennis’ DNA on the handle and Oladipo’s blood on the blade.

Sentencing Dennis, Judge Timothy Spencer KC said he had developed a “seething resentment” towards Oladipo and rejected the idea that Dennis could claim the moral high ground given the nature of the financial dealings behind their dispute. The judge also noted that Dennis had used the knife multiple times, creating an obvious risk of serious harm.

Dennis, who had no previous criminal record, was ultimately sentenced to 10 years in prison.

In a victim impact statement, Oladipo’s sister, Precious Oladipo, detailed the devastating impact her brother’s death has had on their family, particularly their mother, who she said has become withdrawn and cries daily following the loss of her son.

Oladipo’s family previously remembered him as a much-loved son, brother, uncle, boyfriend and friend, describing a young man who loved his family and had been passionate about football since childhood.

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