Friday, 17 Jan 2025

Life on catwalk to life behind bars for stabbing fashion rival to death

A male model who murdered his more successful fashion rival says he ‘cried all the way to prison’ after being convicted.

George Koh, 26, stabbed GQ runway star Harry Uzoka, 25, in the heart during a pre-arranged fight to settle a long and bitter feud.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk from Belmarsh Prison, where he is serving his 25-year minimum life term, he described how he wishes he could ‘go back in time and change everything’.

Koh, of Camden, north west London, claimed he ‘had a very good and promising career’ and wants people to use his story ‘as a wake-up call’.

He said: ‘I strongly hope that one day someone reads up about my story, takes in my experiences and thinks twice about carrying a knife.’


Once on the books at IMG Models — home to fashion icons such as Kate Moss and Gigi Hadid — Koh had modelled for brands including Louis Vuitton and Paul Smith.

He and Harry first crossed paths at an Agi & Sam fashion shoot back in 2015, when the more established model gave tips to some of the younger ones, including Koh.

Jurors heard how he was ‘obsessed’ with the star, copying his ‘look’, mimicking his Instagram feed, and later boasting about having slept with his girlfriend, which was untrue.

The pair arranged a confrontation near Harry’s home in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, to settle the row ‘face to face’ on January 11 last year.

Along with two friends and armed with at least three knives, Koh chased and cornered Harry behind a car before stabbing him to death.

He recalled being hauled to and from the Old Bailey every day for trial and how his ‘whole life stopped for a second’ when he was convicted.


Koh described the trial as ‘the most stressful time of my life’.

He added: ‘Every second seemed to feel like an hour, constantly. I was wondering how my life would turn out, what to say, how I’m possibly going to adjust to prison life.

‘We had to leave Belmarsh during the trial at 7am. I’d get strip-searched in reception then go through the body X-Ray before being handcuffed and placed in the van to be driven to the Old Bailey.

‘During the trial, I felt a mix of regret and sorrow for Harry’s family as well as hopeless and lonely. I didn’t have my life and emotions in control.

‘I really didn’t know what to say about everything, especially when giving evidence in front of the jury, judge, my family and Harry’s family.

‘I was really lost. I just wished I could close my eyes, go back in time and change everything.’

He added: ‘When everyone came back into court for the jury to deliver the verdict, my whole life stopped for a small second.

‘I really felt sad and helpless that day. I was speechless. I cried all the way back to prison.’

Jailing him, Judge Wendy Joseph QC said Koh’s victim ‘was a young man of exceptional talent, who overcame his own difficulties to make a great success of his young life and to be a remarkable role model for others’.

In her sentencing remarks, she said of Harry: ‘He was generous with his time and enjoyed helping others like him to do the same.

‘Amongst those was George Koh. The relationship broke down because of George Koh’s behaviour, which swung between excessive admiration and spite.’

The killer claims he ‘truly regrets’ taking a knife with him to the confrontation, adding that he only did so because he felt Harry was ‘stronger’ than him and ‘more of a fighter’.

Instead of mingling with the country’s top talent like he once did, Koh now rubs shoulders with fellow murderers, rapists, terrorists and gang members.

He moaned that it was ‘stressful’ being confined in a cell ‘without anything’ for 23 hours a day.

Koh said: ‘You have no choice but to obey orders from the prison, such as what time to wake up, when to get your lunch and dinner, when you’ll be allowed out of your cell.

‘Everything is out of your control and comfort. To first process this took some time as I was very used to making my own choices.’

He now says he is dedicated to doing ‘whatever it takes to be a deterrent to knife crime’.

Asked what, if anything, he would say to Harry’s family if he could sit down with them, Koh said: ‘I would look into their eyes and say sorry.

‘I’m really sorry for the pain I caused Harry’s family. I’m really sorry for taking Harry’s life.’

The victim’s mother, Josephine Jackson, paid tribute to her ‘beautiful boy’ after the trial in a victim impact statement.

She said: ‘Your short life enriched the lives of so many. You inspired so many people and touched them with your love.

‘You will never be forgotten, my wonderful boy.’

She added that her son’s ‘departure has left a gaping hole, a void and a crack in the family’.

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