A father of two was stabbed to death in front of his partner in a shocking attack outside Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge.
Blue Stevens, 26, died after being knifed outside the £1,650-a-night 5-star Park Tower Hotel and Casino, which is directly across the road from the famous department store in central London.
On Thursday night police were pursuing a number of lines of inquiry, which included whether the murder was a botched attempted watch robbery.
Detectives are also considering whether the murder at 9.30pm on Wednesday may have been a targeted attack.
Mr Stevens, who is the grandson of a champion boxer, had been just been for a romantic dinner with his partner when the masked assailant struck.
The murder came hours after London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan promised a police blitz on crime in the capital, including tackling knife crime and robberies.
On Thursday the victim’s friends claimed that he had just been for a ‘posh meal’ when a masked mugger attempted to snatch his gold watch while riding a bike or e-scooter.
But it is unclear whether any robbery took place as Mr Stevens was found to be still wearing his watch when police and paramedics arrived.
Blue Stevens, 26, died after being knifed outside the £1,650-a-night 5-star Park Tower Hotel and Casino
Mr Stevens, who is the grandson of a champion boxer, had two children, including a little girl (pictured together)
His sister shared this image and tribute, showing him wearing one of his beloved watches
Mr Stevens, who hails from a family of famous boxers, was fatally stabbed in the chest when he fought back, witnesses claimed.
His grandfather was celebrated heavyweight Les Stevens, who won bronze at the 1970 Commonwealth Games.
Friends have said the victim loved buying the ‘sparkliest’ watches he could find and was pictured recently on social media wearing a Datejust 36mm oystersteel and gold Rolex, which is worth £12,250.
He was walking towards his BMW with his girlfriend when he was ambushed outside the casino, next door to Nusr-Et, the steakhouse run by celebrity chef Salt Bae.
His partner Tayla Marie fought to save him but he died at the scene.
On Thursday she laid flowers at the scene with a note saying: ‘To my Blue. We are absolutely devastated without you. You took a piece of my heart with you. A part of me has gone with you.
‘I love you more than absolutely anyone in this world. My boy forever and always.’
His mother Charlie took to Facebook and said simply: ‘Please. I want him back’, adding: ‘Everyone in your life will have a last day with you, and you won’t even know when it will be. Cherish them before it’s too late.’
The victim was just 100 metres from his car when he was attacked.
The murder scene outside the Park Tower Casino in London’s Knightsbridge on Thursday morning
His partner left flowers at the scene that said: ‘We are absolutely devastated without you. You took a piece of my heart with you. A part of me has gone with you’
Blue’s grandfather was champion boxer Les Stevens (right). Pictured fighting John Conteh
Yesterday a khaki-coloured New York Yankees baseball cap was seen on the dashboard while sunglasses and a hairbrush were left in a glove box.
Tearful cousins and friends laid flowers at the scene.
One said: ‘He was always smiling, always happy. His children was his life. He had a boy and a girl.‘
The victim’s grandfather Les Stevens went on a 15-fight winning streak as a professional before retiring in 1979. In his career he had 23 wins and just five defeats.
Les then devoted 40 years of his life to training boxers and died in 2020 of Covid-19.
Police are currently hunting for the killer.
No arrests have been made.
A worker at a luxury hotel near the murder scene said: ‘I was working there last night. My secretary told me a masked man tried to rob his watch. It was a couple. But the guy pulled out his hand and he took out his knife and stabbed him.
Police swarmed the exclusive area at just before 9.30pm on Wednesday
The Park Tower Hotel and Casino is next door to Nusr-Et, the steakhouse run by celebrity chef Salt Bae (pictured on Thursday)
‘The couple were walking along the pavement and he tried to fight back but the guy took the knife and stabbed him in the chest.
‘The police chased the guy but I don’t think they caught him. I saw a little bit of the CCTV. I saw the man lying out on the pavement, a woman was supporting him and crying. There was a lot of blood. He was wearing a white or cream coloured t-shirt. He was unconscious.‘
The worker said they believed the attacker was on an e-scooter but an American tourist said they thought the killer was on a bike and that they had been warned by friends not to wear any expensive jewellery while walking in London.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We were called at 9:23pm yesterday to reports of a stabbing in Seville Street, Knightsbridge.
‘We sent resources to the scene, including paramedics in fast response cars and an incident response officer. We also dispatched a trauma team from London’s Air Ambulance, which consisted of a paramedic and a doctor in a car.
‘The first paramedic arrived in less than four minutes.
‘Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a man died at the scene.’
