Ex-soldier found guilty of murdering his neighbour

A former soldier has been found guilty of murdering his neighbour.

Abdul Chadli was discovered with a single stab wound to the chest at the home of Elvis Vickers in Norwich in November 2024.

Vickers, now 48, who was caught on a police body camera calling his neighbour a "wrong 'un" who had "pushed his luck", claimed he had acted in self-defence.

But a jury at Norwich Crown Court found him guilty on Thursday. He will be sentenced in the new year.

On the stand, Vickers told the jury his neighbour's skin colour and religion was not an issue for him.

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But Christopher Paxton KC, prosecuting, told the court Vickers "was a man consumed with anger and hatred".

The jury heard that he had said "I'm not letting these terrorists run my street" ahead of the attack, and referenced black people in a derogatory manner.

They were told that on the evening of Friday, 1 November 2024, the two men – who lived in adjacent flats in Mousehold Street – had been drinking together at Vickers's home when they started to argue about current affairs.

Vickers sent a text message to a friend just after 22:00 GMT which read "just to let you know, I just killed Abs". Seven minutes later Vickers called 999 and said, "I've got a dead body in my flat, mate", before telling the call handler, "Yeah, I killed him".

Officers found 48-year-old Mr Chadli – described by his family as a "kind, caring and gentle guy" – lying on the bathroom floor.

As they tried to save Mr Chadli's life, Vickers said society was "bowing down to Muslims", and the victim was a "wrong 'un" who had "pushed his luck".

The jury of six men and six women unanimously found Vickers guilty after deliberating for almost 12 hours.

Following the verdict, Det Insp Sam Pontin of Norfolk Police said: "Our thoughts remain firmly with Abdul's family and friends and we hope today's conviction brings them some measure of justice.

"This was a senseless act of violence which should never have happened."

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