Detectives investigating party teenager's murder make five arrests

Five teenagers have been arrested by detectives investigating the murder of an aspiring rapper.

Lewis Blackman, 19, was stabbed to death after a party in Kensington, west London, on February 18.

On Tuesday five boys - four aged 16 and one aged 17 - were held on suspicion of murder, Scotland Yard said.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, who is leading the investigation, said: "Our inquiries have established that Lewis may have attended a party at an address in Earls Court Road at the junction with Logan Place. Were you at that party? Did you take any pictures or film while you were there? If so, please get in contact with police.

"I would also appeal to anyone who was in the area from around 2am, specifically motorists or cyclists, who may have dashcam or helmet-cam footage. This could help us establish the exact sequence of events leading up to Lewis's murder.

"Finally, I would ask any cab drivers who made any drops or pick-ups from the area around Logan Place and Earls Court Road during the early hours of February 18 to come forward with any information that could assist this investigation."

Lewis, from Camden, north London, was found at around 3.20am in Logan Place by police officers who had been called to a disturbance after a party nearby.

They and paramedics tried to revive him, but he died at the scene from stab wounds to the chest.

He lived near where two men were murdered in fatal stabbings last week, but police have said there is no link with his death "at this stage".

The 19-year-old's friends told the Evening Standard that he wanted a career in the music industry and liked rapping.

Five teenagers have been stabbed to death in London so far this year, amid concern about a national rise in knife crime.