Oladipo, a 20-year-old third-year student at De Montfort University (DMU), was allegedly stabbed five times in the chest, with one of the wounds penetrating his heart.
The alleged attacker, 18-year-old Harper Dennis, a first-year student at the University of Leicester, is standing trial at Leicester Crown Court over the February 3, 2026, incident.
Prosecutor Jane Osborne KC told the court that Dennis and Oladipo had previously been friends after meeting in Leicester and connecting through online gaming. However, their relationship reportedly deteriorated following a dispute over money Dennis believed Oladipo owed him.
The disagreement was allegedly linked to an attempt by Dennis to sell a fake Rolex watch he had received from Oladipo. According to the prosecution, Dennis took the watch to a jeweller in Hatton Garden, London, where he was reportedly told it was fake.
On the evening of the incident, Oladipo had left his girlfriend’s flat carrying a plastic bag containing leftover snacks and was speaking to her on the phone as he walked back to his accommodation to watch football.
However, CCTV allegedly showed Dennis waiting in the area around the DMU Innovation Centre on Oxford Street before the pair encountered each other.
“It took less than 30 seconds for the two men to come together, to struggle and for the defendant to leave,” Osborne told the court.
Oladipo’s girlfriend reportedly heard him say, “Why did you come up and stab me?” during the phone call before he asked her to contact an ambulance.
A post-mortem examination found that Oladipo had suffered six wounds — five to his chest, including one that penetrated his heart, and another to his thumb.
The confrontation was reportedly captured by the dashcam of a passing vehicle. The driver told the court they saw what appeared to be “a snowstorm of feathers” from one of the men’s puffer jackets.
After the attack, passers-by performed chest compressions on Oladipo before police officers and paramedics arrived. He was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary but was pronounced dead just over an hour after the stabbing.
Police reportedly recovered a black folding knife from the scene and arrested Dennis later that evening at his accommodation in Leicester.
A search of Dennis’ flat allegedly uncovered four knives, while investigators also found clothing reportedly matching what he was seen wearing in CCTV footage of the incident.
The court further heard that Dennis had given a flatmate a black bin bag containing clothing to dispose of with her rubbish. Police later recovered the bag and found the clothes inside.
Following an initial “no comment” police interview, Dennis reportedly admitted being present at the scene but claimed he had acted in self-defence.
Prosecutors also told the court that the dispute between the two students had escalated in the months before the killing.
Oladipo had reportedly told a friend that he believed he was being followed around Leicester in November and December 2025. The court also heard that Dennis allegedly made two anonymous threatening calls to Oladipo’s girlfriend on Christmas Day, claiming Oladipo was “a bad guy” and owed £3,000.
In January, Oladipo reportedly told the same friend that he was “angry about it” but also “scared of the other man.”
Snapchat messages allegedly recovered by police were also presented to the court, including one in which Dennis reportedly said he would “dedicate his life to making sure Mr Oladipo suffers for what he did.”
Financial records showed several transfers between the pair dating back to December 2024, with the final transfer allegedly made by Oladipo to Dennis on Christmas Day 2025. The payment was reportedly 60 pence and carried the reference “5999 to go.”
Dennis, of Bath Lane, Leicester, denies murder, possession of a bladed article and failing to comply with a Section 49 notice requiring him to disclose the PIN code to his mobile phone.
The trial is expected to last three weeks and is ongoing.
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