A man who stabbed a father-of-three to death in the food hall of a shopping centre has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 27 years for his murder.

Michael Ugwa, 29, was killed at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock, Essex, on April 28 last year after complimenting a woman, Basildon Crown Court was told.

Muhammad Khan, 24, was found guilty of Mr Ugwa’s murder and of affray following an earlier trial.

Judge Samantha Leigh said she was satisfied so she was sure that Khan had said, in the car on the way to the shopping mall, that he “felt like killing someone today”.

She said Khan was wearing a full-face balaclava, had argued with his girlfriend earlier that day and “was clearly in an aggressive mood”.

He had carried a knife daily for “almost 18 months” before the incident, the judge said, and he produced his flick-knife at Lakeside, “one of the biggest shopping centres in England, it was full of people”.

She sentenced Khan at Basildon Crown Court on Friday to life in prison with a minimum term of 27 years, which he must serve before he can be considered for release.

She said the murder was “over a throwaway flirtatious comment”, adding: “This was carried out in the most public of areas, the food court of Lakeside at 4.30pm.”

Members of Mr Ugwa’s family, wearing black t-shirts with photographs of Mr Ugwa printed on them, attended Friday’s sentencing hearing and watched on from the jury seats.

Mr Ugwa’s mother, Lauretta, wept as she read her victim impact statement to the court.

“My family have been shattered by this senseless act of violence and we are still struggling to come to terms with the enormity of our loss,” she said.

She said that her 16-year-old daughter first became aware of the incident when she saw a Snapchat video, saying that someone had been stabbed at Lakeside.

“She zoomed in on the face of the victim and the person looked like Michael, same facial structure, same hairstyle,” she said, later learning that he had gone there to get food.

“There’s no ending to our pain, our loss and our heartbreak,” she said.

“Michael’s three young children will forever be fatherless.

“We therefore ask for maximum sentences so that justice will be served for Michael and no other family will have to suffer the way we have.”

Karim Khalil KC, prosecuting, said Khan and Brandon Lutchmunsing had cornered Mr Ugwa before Khan stabbed him in the chest.

Mr Ugwa, from Rainham, east London, bled to death at the scene as the two men fled.

Khan, of Ilford, east London, and Lutchmunsing, of Dagenham, east London, had denied the charges against them.

Lutchmunsing, 21, who was found guilty of manslaughter and affray, was sentenced to 13 years in prison with a further two-year extended licence period.

Jurors were told how an argument broke out after Mr Ugwa made comments towards Lutchmunsing’s girlfriend, Shannon Weston.

Khan is said to have brandished a knife before he and Lutchmunsing stalked Mr Ugwa through the shopping centre food hall.

Mr Khalil described the “brutal attack of two on one” in which the men trapped Mr Ugwa in a “pincer movement”.

Footage played at court showed Mr Ugwa holding up a chair in a bid to defend himself before throwing it at Lutchmunsing.

Khan then stabbed Mr Ugwa in a “single and deadly” blow before fleeing with Lutchmunsing in Weston’s red Audi, Mr Khalil said.

Weston drove Khan and Lutchmunsing away from the shopping centre, and helped her then-boyfriend to evade police between April 28 and May 4.

The 21-year-old, of Canewdon, Essex, was found guilty of three counts of assisting an offender, which she had denied.

She was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

In mitigation for Khan, it was said that it was a single stab wound and he lacked maturity.

For Lutchmunsing, it was said that he has mental health difficulties and was not in possession of a knife.

For Weston, it was said that she had a “difficult upbringing” and was “effectively homeless” at the time.

Khan and Lutchmunsing showed no reaction as they were led to the cells.