Richard Ray, who assisted his friend Tony Curant in fleeing the scene after Curant brutally murdered his partner, Leila Young, will be released from prison in just a few weeks. Ray, 34, from Swanley, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Tuesday, August 8, for perverting the course of justice. Having already served nearly half of that sentence on remand, Ray is set to be released soon.

On January 16, Curant stabbed Leila 57 times in their home on Penhill Road while their terrified children hid in a nearby room. After the attack, Curant phoned Ray, telling him, “I’ve just killed the missus.” Ray then drove Curant from Bexley to Dartford, where Curant hid in a brothel until his arrest three days later.

During the time Curant was in hiding, Ray also concealed the mobile phones Curant had taken from his children, preventing them from calling for help. Additionally, Ray delivered drugs to Curant while he was on the run. Text messages presented in court showed Ray making light of the situation, sending a screenshot of a news article titled “Woman fighting for life after Bexley stabbing” to another friend, accompanied by laughing emojis.

Curant was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday, August 2, with a minimum term of 21 years, later reduced to 20 years. The court heard that Leila had been planning to leave Curant, whom she described in texts as “the biggest bully she had ever met.”

On the day of the murder, Curant called 999, stating that Leila had been stabbed and was “basically dead.” When emergency services arrived, they found Leila in a pool of blood. Despite her critical condition, she identified Curant as her attacker, telling paramedics, “Please save me. I can’t feel my body. Tony done it.” Tragically, Leila died in the hospital a week later, on January 23.

Ray claimed that he initially did not believe Curant had actually killed Leila, thinking instead that Curant was just “off his f***ing nut.” However, as they drove past the crime scene on Penhill Road, Curant admitted that Leila was either “dead or paralysed.”

When Ray was arrested, he told police that he had considered flagging down a police car to report what had happened but was too scared and instead went to KFC. Ray’s defense barrister, Jade Gambrill, argued that Ray’s relationship with Curant was more transactional than a genuine friendship, as Ray was a substance abuser who bought drugs from Curant. She also pointed out that Ray was scared of Curant, who had threatened him in the past.

Despite the seriousness of his involvement, Ray was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Judge David Aaronberg KC stated that there was ample evidence available to Ray that Curant had at least seriously injured Leila, noting that Curant had blood on his clothes and that helicopters were circling Bexley.

“You will serve up to one half of that sentence in custody before you are released on licence,” Judge Aaronberg said. “The net result, Mr Ray, is that you will be released in the next few weeks.”