The man accused of stabbing a film student to death on Primrose Hill told a court today: ‘I didn’t kill anybody.’
Oluwadamilola Ogunyankinnu, who is pictured for the first time, raised his hands in the air and made the claim as he stood in the dock at Stratford Magistrates’ Court in east London on Monday.
Ogunyankinnu is charged with murdering 21-year-old Finbar Sullivan who died after the alleged attack last Tuesday.
The 27-year-old defendant, of Enfield in north London, spoke to confirm his name, address and date of birth.
He was not asked to enter any plea to the charge of murder. But he then put his hands together and asked if he could address the court.
He said: ‘I didn’t kill anybody. I didn’t stab anybody. Police got the wrong person.’
Ogunyankinnu was remanded in custody by district judge Ashwinder Gill. He will next appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday.
The district judge told him: ‘Your case is too serious to be held at this court.’
Ogunyankinnu was arrested on Friday and charged with murder on Sunday.
A 25-year-old who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender was released with no further action.
Film student Finbar was stabbed to death when a fight broke out in front of shocked crowds at the beauty spot in north London on Tuesday afternoon.
Several tributes have been placed by wellwishers, including customised T-shirts featuring the victim’s face and his nickname, Sully.
His father, Christopher Sullivan, founder of 1980s band Blue Rondo à la Turk, said his son was trying out a new camera when he was attacked.
The grieving father previously told the Mail: ‘This is the worst tragedy I could ever imagine. He’s my only son… I had him when I was 45. He can never be replaced.’
Mr Sullivan, 65, who also set up Soho’s infamous Wag Club in the 1980s, described Finbar as a ‘middle-class kid with long hair’ who lived with him in a £1million flat in Maida Vale.
He said: ‘I’m so broken-hearted, I can’t believe it. He was the most beautiful, lovely, outgoing, loving boy. He was just a really lovely person. And why he was targeted, we have no idea.
‘He’d just bought a new camera, we all chipped in for his 21st birthday, and he took it up there to do a bit of filming.’
Videos from Primrose Hill at the time appeared to show groups of men fighting.
One witness, who asked not to be named, said: ‘The park was just so busy, I had gone with my mate after work and it was literally the busiest I have ever seen it because of the weather and it being Easter holidays.
‘Then suddenly we heard this commotion from behind us, and a big brawl kicked off – people were throwing punches, people were screaming at others to stop.
‘There were lots of people involved in the fight, most of them looked about 18 or 19.’
Mr Sullivan said he went to the scene as soon as he heard his son had been caught up in the violence: ‘I got the call at about six that he’d been stabbed, so I rushed up there.
‘I wasn’t allowed in because it was a crime scene, and by that point he’d had 20 minutes of CPR. He’d obviously died.
‘It’s Primrose Hill, for God’s sake… it’s like Hyde Park. It’s not somewhere you expect this.’
Finbar’s grandfather Mr Seresin is a celebrated cinematographer who worked on Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban, the film adaptation of Angela’s Ashes and on 1987’s Angel Heart which featured Robert De Niro and Mickey Rourke.
Mr Seresin also runs the Seresin wine estate in New Zealand, which counts Finbar’s mother Leah as a brand ambassador.
She had described him in a post on his birthday last year as ‘this gift’ and ‘my darling Finbar’, saying: ‘Love you to the moon and back.’
The Wag Club, famed for its hedonism, was founded by Mr Sullivan in 1982 and became a favoured haunt for stars including David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Brad Pitt and Stevie Wonder.
Finbar, who went to Acland Burghley School in Tufnell Park and studied at the London Screen Academy, followed his family into the arts, primarily producing music videos for drill rap artists under the name Sully Shot It.
Despite the drill music scene’s long association with gang violence, Mr Sullivan insisted his son was not associated with any gang members.
‘He was just a little groovy 21-year-old who loved movies and making films,’ he said.
‘He didn’t drink, he didn’t smoke, he didn’t go out.
‘He’d stay at home editing his films six nights a week. He wanted to follow in his [grandfather’s footsteps] and be a cameraman.
‘He was a studious kid who just loved movies and making films. He recently did a video for Joseph Corre, Vivienne Westwood’s son.
‘We were just about to start a company together… he was going to do his showreel today with me. And now he’s dead.
‘His friend was stabbed in the back and hands trying to protect him. My son always tried to stand up for people.’
Detective Inspector Andy Griffin, from Scotland Yard, said: ‘We are following several lines of inquiry. This incident occurred in a busy, public park and there may be many witnesses who can help us piece together what happened.
‘We are aware of footage circulating on social media around the time of the incident, and urge anyone who has any information, including photos or videos, which could support the investigation to urgently contact us.’
