Three men deny killing film student in Primrose Hill brawl

Emily Pennink, Press Association Old Bailey Correspondent

Three men have denied killing a filmmaking student during a brawl at a popular beauty spot in north London.

Finbar Sullivan, 21, was allegedly kicked, punched and fatally stabbed in the early evening on Tuesday April 7 at the Primrose Hill viewpoint.

On Friday, Ernest Boateng, 25, Alexis Bidace, 25, and Oliuwadamilola Ogunyankinnu, 27, appeared at the Old Bailey for a plea hearing before Judge Mark Dennis KC.

Speaking by videolink from Belmarsh and Isis prisons, the men spoke to confirm their identities and entered not guilty pleas to three charges against them.

All three defendants are charged with the murder and manslaughter of Mr Sullivan and violent disorder in Primrose Hill.

The court previously heard how emergency services had been alerted to a fight involving young males on the evening of April 7.

Mr Sullivan had entered the park at 6.25pm and joined other friends before he allegedly became surrounded by a group of attackers.

It is alleged Boateng kicked Mr Sullivan, taking out his legs and causing him to fall to the ground before he was stabbed.

Bidace is alleged to have punched and kicked Mr Sullivan alongside Ogunyankinnu.

Another unnamed male, armed with a knife, is alleged to have stabbed Mr Sullivan in the thigh, causing an “unsurvivable” injury.

Bidace, Boateng, Ogunyankinnu, all from Enfield, north London, were remanded into custody.

Judge Dennis set a further case management hearing on September 25 ahead of their trial on April 5 next year.

Mr Sullivan, known as Fin by his friends, was a student at the London Screen Academy.

Mr Sullivan’s father, originally from Merthyr Tydfil, previously told the Daily Mail that his son had gone to the area to use a new camera he had received for his birthday.