Lazarus Makono: Jurors find man guilty of murdering 26-year-old killed in fatal Barnsley house party stabbing

26-year-old Lazarus Makono, known as ‘Laz’, was fatally stabbed at a party held in the Goldthorpe area of Barnsley on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.

Sipho Pfukani, 29, of Luxembourg Mews, London, has today (Monday, October 28, 2024) been found guilty of Lazarus’ murder, following a two-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “Emergency services were called at 1.21am to a house at Co-operative Street where officers found Laz with stab wounds to his side.

“Despite the best efforts of officers and ambulance staff, Laz sadly died at the scene a short time later.”

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At an earlier hearing at the same court, a second man, Terrance MIotshwa, 28, of Ripley Avenue, Derby, pleaded guilty to one count of assisting an offender and one count of fraud.

Both men will now be sentenced on November 8, 2024.

At an earlier hearing at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court in February 2024, Pfukani was charged with murder and pleaded not guilty.

Two women, aged 20 and 25, and a 32-year-old man who were previously arrested for assisting an offender, were all released with no further action.