Jamaican jailed for murdering Zimbabwean

Daniel Tullock

A man has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for the manslaughter of 23-year-old Tarirai Munjanja in Slough last year.

Daniel Tulloch, aged 36, formerly of Bradley Road, Slough, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by provocation at Reading Crown Court yesterday afternoon (3/3), following a two-week trial. The jury returned a majority verdict of ten to two.

On the evening of 29 August 2009, Tarirai Munjanja, known as Terry and originally from Zimbabwe, was visiting a friend at a multi-occupancy address in Bradley Road, Slough, when Tulloch, who had rented a room there until about five weeks before the murder, let himself in to the house with his old key and started becoming aggressive.

The pair, who had not met before, got into an argument at the bottom of the stairs. There was a standoff between them and a scuffle ensued, during which Terry restrained Tulloch in a headlock.  

The situation appeared to calm down after a few minutes, at which point Munjanja went out into the front garden.

Shortly afterwards, Tulloch went into the back garden, picked up a knife from an area behind the shed and went into the front garden, where he continued to argue with Munjanja before stabbing him once in the stomach and running off through the back garden and down an alleyway.

Tulloch, a Jamaican national, was arrested on 2 September 2009 and charged with murder the following day.

Det Ch Insp Steve Tolmie, senior investigating officer, said: “This was a pointless loss of life, stemming from a trivial argument between the pair after Daniel Tulloch wouldn’t let Terry pass him on the stairs. Tulloch’s actions on that night have cut short a young man’s life and left his family understandably totally devastated. I am pleased that Tulloch has been brought to justice, and hope that today’s result will go some way to bringing a sense of closure to Terry’s family."