Steven Narvaez Jara: Young man stabbed to death in the street was student who dreamed of being a pilot

Party: Steven Narvaez Jara was attacked at a block of flats near Old Street
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A young man stabbed to death at a New Year’s Eve flat party was a university student and an aspiring pilot, it was revealed today.

Steven Narvaez Jara, 20, suffered fatal knife wounds when a fight broke out in a block of flats off Old Street.

Today, friends paid tribute to the Mr Narvaez Jara, originally from Ecuador, who was among four young men stabbed to death in London within 15 hours over New Year.

Katheryne Herrera said Mr Narvaez Jara was studying physics and aerospace at the University of Hertfordshire to further his dream of becoming a pilot.

On a JustGiving page to raise £5,000 for his funeral, she wrote: “He was passionate about music as well as football. A young man who was loved amongst his family and peers and as the Ecuadorian young man he was, he was full of life and loved a great party. He left behind a loving mother, father and three younger sisters.”

Ms Herrera said his family had been left “numb and broken”. Members of the family were today at the Belvedere home he shared with his parents Steven and Viviana. An uncle said: “He was a very popular boy.”

Stabbed to death: Taofeek Olamidi

Neighbours in Bartholomew Court described screams and dozens of youngsters fleeing. One said: “I heard some girl shout out, crying, ‘Oh, he’s been stabbed’.”

A 19-year-old man was arrested in Hackney on Monday on suspicion of murder. Police said today a second man, 18, had been arrested in Hackney on suspicion of murder.

Friends of another man killed on New Year’s Eve revealed he was killed two days before his 21st birthday. Taofeek Lamidi was said to have been knifed in the chest in West Ham after a fight with a man escalated. The former Eastlea Community School pupil came from Nigeria and was planning to be a personal trainer. Akua Barnie, 25, said: “I am mourning.”

In Enfield, flowers, candles and empty bottles of spirits were left at two vigils for an 18-year-old stabbed to death on New Year’s Eve.

A picture of the teenager, known as “Chak”, posing with gold rings and a gold necklace was left on a tree near Turkey Street with a tribute that read: “Chak’s World. Rest easy x.”

He died of stab wounds after being attacked when he answered the door to a friend’s flat in Larmans Road at 11.30am. Detectives have charged three young men, two with possession of an offensive weapon and one, 18, with possession of a shotgun.

Officers also continue to investigate the death of Kyall Parnell, 17, who was stabbed to death on New Year’s Eve after a fight on a bus in Tulse Hill.

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