63SW

19-year-old Harley Purdue was a kind and gentle young man living in Chatham, Kent, England. His family remembered him as a smart and loving young man whose life was only beginning. Harley was preparing to become a father. His girlfriend, Hazel Gadsden, was pregnant, and the young couple had a future to look forward to together. But in the early hours of December 2, 2025, that future was tragically taken away. At approximately 2:40 a.m., Harley was asleep beside his pregnant girlfriend when his housemate, 18-year-old Eritrean migrant Musa Salih, knocked on their bedroom door. Salih claimed there was a dead mouse in the basement toilet and asked Harley to help him. Still half-asleep, Harley got out of bed wearing only his boxer shorts and wrapped in a blanket, unaware that he was walking into a trap. Salih intended to lock Harley inside the basement toilet so he could steal money from his bedroom. When Harley resisted being locked inside, a struggle broke out, and Salih stabbed him eight times, including a devastating wound that penetrated his lung and heart. Hearing the commotion, Harley's pregnant girlfriend rushed downstairs and found him gravely wounded and bleeding heavily. She desperately tried to protect him, grabbing a kitchen knife as Salih threatened them. Emergency services were called, but Harley's injuries were too severe. He was pronounced dead at the scene before 4 a.m. On October 15, 2026, Salih, now 19, was found guilty of Harley's murder at Maidstone Crown Court. He is due to be sentenced on November 4. Harley was just 19 years old. He never got the chance to hold his baby, watch his child grow up, or experience the family life that awaited him. His girlfriend lost the man she loved, his family lost a cherished son, and his unborn child was deprived of a father. Rest in peace, Harley. 🕊️