The man convicted of murdering a rival he felt had 'disrespected' him, grew up in Mozambique where he saw his cousin stabbed to death.
Junior Suleimane lived in the south eastern African country until the age of 14 and had a "mostly troubled" upbringing.
Details of his background emerged during his trial for the murder of Felizardo Jose Vieira-Balde at Norwich Crown Court. The case ended this week, after a jury found him guilty.
Junior Suleimane (Image: Norfolk Constabulary)
The trial heard how Suleimane stabbed Mr Vieira-Balde once in the chest with a large knife in broad daylight after a chance encounter between the pair on St Peter's Street, Great Yarmouth, on February 8 last year.
Animosity between the two men dated back to a party in the town organised by Suleimane the previous October.
He threw out Mr Vieira-Balde and another man who were having an argument.
Mr Vieira-Balde bore a grudge about the incident and attacked Suleimane after the pair bumped into each other at another address in the town in January last year, stabbing him in the leg.
The killing came around a month after this and was not about self-defence but "loss of face, perceived disrespect and about revenge".
Junior Suleimane approaching Felizardo Jose Vieira-Balde with a knife (Image: Supplied)
AFRICAN UPBRINGING
As well as witnessing his cousin's murder, Suleimane saw a number of other people lose their lives before he moved from Mozambique.
The country endured a brutal 16-year civil war which ended in 1992. However, it is still suffering its effects and insurgencies have continued in some areas.
Suleimane was living near a military base which came under attack, with "missiles going off all over the place" and people blowing up everywhere".
Those experiences proved too much for Suleimane, who considers himself to be half Mozambique and half Portuguese, and as a teen he went to live with his mother in Great Yarmouth.
Police on scene after fatal stabbing in Great Yarmouth (Image: Newsquest)
LIFE IN YARMOUTH
Life however got no easier in Norfolk as he was "robbed multiple times" and was the subject of bullying.
He was also a passenger in a car in Manchester which crashed resulting in the death of another passenger in the vehicle in 2021.
After leaving school, Suleimane worked in a number of jobs, including as a life guard at the Marina Centre, at a holiday park, a factory and as a waiter in two different restaurants.
START OF THE FEUD
But he wanted to start his own business in events management and it was after one of the first parties that he organised in Yarmouth, in October 2022, that he first came across Mr Vieira-Balde.
Suleimane, who lived with his partner and two young children, said while at the party he saw Mr Vieira-Balde "having conflict" with another young man.
He told his murder trial he separated the two, who were in a "verbal and physical" disagreement, and as he did so noticed there was a large kitchen knife on the floor.
He said he picked up the knife and disposed of it before throwing out the two men in a bid to "salvage the event".
Suleimane said Mr Vieira-Balde "didn't like it" and was angry suggesting that in evicting him Suleimane thought he was "better than everyone else".
It was the start of a conflict which was to have devastating consequences for both young men.
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