Man who murdered father of three in Derby bank locked up for life
Nur stabbed Mr Johal once in the chest. He then turned around and calmly walked out. He was in the bank for just 22 seconds.
A man who stabbed a beloved father of three to death in a random attack in a Derby bank has been jailed for life.
Haybe Cabdiraxmaan Nur walked into the Lloyds branch in St Peter’s Street just after 2.30pm on May 6, heading past several customers and members of staff, and straight up to Gurvinder Johal, who was waiting in a queue.
Nur pulled a knife from the waistband of his trousers and stabbed Mr Johal, who was known as Danny, once in the chest. He then turned around and calmly walked out. He was in the bank for just 22 seconds.
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People in the bank rushed to help Danny with emergency services arriving at the scene just minutes later. However, despite the best efforts of medical staff, Danny was pronounced dead at the scene just after 3.15pm.
After delivering the fatal blow, Nur, a Somalian national, walked back to his home address in Western Road, Normanton, taking a route through the city which included the Derbion shopping centre, with CCTV showing him turning the distinctive black and white jacket he was wearing inside out as he went home in a bid to avoid detection.
He was identified shortly after through a CCTV image showing him wearing the jacket from a previous incident in the city a few weeks earlier.
Armed officers arrested him at his home address shortly before 7pm that evening.
In interview, he told officers he had started drinking at 8.30am on the day of the murder and couldn’t remember anything.
He said he had suffered mental health problems since the age of eight and that he had consumed three bottles of vodka and a box of beer that day. Nur said his mental health was at its worst in 2016 when his fiancé was shot by her father in front of him in an honour killing.
However, he never revealed any reason as to why he stabbed Danny – and has never given any explanation for his actions since.
Danny’s family explained in a moving statement read out at court how Nur’s silence has compounded their grief.
In a victim impact statement, the family of the 37-year-old said: “To the world he may have been many things: a devoted husband, a loving father, a cherished brother and a loyal friend. But to us, and to God, he was simply a good man. Our Gurvinder. Our light.
“The day Gurvinder was murdered, our lives didn’t just change—they shattered.
“Our home, once filled with laughter, warmth, and his joyful presence, is now suffocated by a silence so loud it hurts.
“Every morning, we wake with a flicker of hope, expecting to hear his footsteps on the stairs, ready for work, ready for breakfast and a chat. But there is only silence. A silence that screams his absence. The future now feels like a life sentence of grief.
“We are tormented by the 'what ifs.' What if he hadn’t gone to work that day? What if he had taken a different route? Would he still be here? Would he have avoided crossing paths with the person who took him from us—a person we see as nothing more than a coward, a demon.
“Gurvinder’s wife has lost her soulmate, her partner, her protector. She is now left to raise their children alone, her life shattered, her heart hollow. Our family is broken. Birthdays, family gatherings—once filled with joy—are now painful reminders of his absence. The light in our family has been extinguished.
“Gurvinder was kind, loving, and generous. He brought joy to everyone around him—his family, his friends, his community. That light has been stolen. And the person who did this will never understand the depth of the destruction they have caused. They are no man. They are nothing.
“And to the one who did this—we pray that God shows you the same mercy you showed our son. May you, or your soul, never rest in peace.”
Today (October 29) Derby Crown Court heard how Nur arrived in the UK via a small boat in October 2024 and following his arrest it was found that he had made multiple calls to a helpline on the day of the murder expressing unhappiness with his current situation after his bid for asylum was rejected and was in the process of being appealed.
It was also revealed that he had committed a number of offences, including robbery, assault and resisting a public official, in four European countries before he arrived in the UK.
After one of the calls made just before 1.30pm on May 6, the helpline contacted East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) with concerns over Nur’s mental state and fears he was going to harm himself and others.
EMAS contacted police and it was deemed that the ambulance service was the appropriate agency to deal with this. An ambulance was sent to Nur’s home address, arriving just before 3pm that day, shortly after he arrived home following the murder.
Due to this, the force made a voluntary referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct and an investigation is currently ongoing.
Nur, 47, was charged with Mr Johal’s murder on May 8. He admitted the offence when he appeared at Derby Crown Court on August 21 and appeared at the same court where he was jailed for life.
He must serve a minimum of 24 years and 191 days before being eligible for release.
Detective Inspector Tony Owen, the senior investigating officer in the case, said: “Danny was everything to his family and friends - a much-loved husband, son, father and brother.
“For his life to have ended so suddenly and brutally in this way is not only devastating for his loved ones but also impossible for them to understand.
“Danny didn’t know Nur and there was no link between the two. He was simply going about his business when Nur attacked him.
“There is only one person who can say what happened on that day and yet, despite his guilty plea to murder, Nur has so far provided absolutely no explanation for his actions.
“This just serves to compound the grief felt by Danny’s loved ones and leave them with a lifetime of questions.
“I can’t imagine how difficult the last few months have been for them and my thoughts, along with those of all the team involved in this investigation, remain with them.
“The courage and dignity they have shown throughout this process must be commended.
“I hope that knowing Nur is now serving a lengthy prison sentence will allow them some form of closure as they continue to navigate their grief.
“As well as Danny’s family and friends, I know this tragic incident also had an enormous impact on those who were in the bank at the time and rushed to help Danny, along with the wider community.
“I’d like to thank everyone for their support throughout this investigation and the part they have played in bringing Nur to justice and taking a dangerous offender off the streets.”