Two men charged with London murder of model Harry Uzoka

Two men have appeared in court charged with the murder of a 25-year-old man in west London last Thursday.

The victim has not been officially named but has been identified in reports as the model Harry Uzoka and next of kin have been informed. He was described as a “wonderful model but, even more so, a good person and a pleasure to work with” by one of the companies he worked for.

George Koh, 24, and Jonathan Okigbo, 23, both from north London, were accused of murder, and Koh was charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

During their appearance at Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday the pair spoke only to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses. They were remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on Thursday.

After news of Uzoka’s death broke, the model Jourdan Dunn posted an image of him on Twitter with the caption: “Rest in Paradise Young King.”

The singer, MNEK, tweeted: “SHOCKED. i met him various times and thought he was always so cool. my heart goes out to his family. RIP.”

Uzoka was was signed to Premier Model Management, which helped launch the careers of Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer among others. He was found injured in Shepherd’s Bush at about 4pm on 11 January, the Metropolitan police said.

Police said Koh was arrested on Sunday and Okigbo the following day. Detectives added that a 27-year-old man, who was arrested on the day of the incident, had been released under investigation and a 28-year-old man, detained the same day, had been released with no further action to be taken.