Caribbean Indian Teen From New York Stabbed to Death by Roommate While Studying in U.K.

A New York teen was stabbed to death last week by his roommate in the U.K. where he was studying. Sachin Hawkins, 19, who died on Nov. 15, was described as a popular kid who hoped to one day become a special education teacher. He died in a hospital after being found with a knife wound at a property in Hardy Street, the Hull Daily Mail reported.

The police have charged Syed Hussain-Kazi, 24, with Hawkins’s murder. Hussain-Kazi appeared in court on Nov. 20, and “only spoke to confirm his name and address,” Hull Daily Mail report said. “He has made no plea at this stage and his case is due to return to court for mention on Jan. 2 next year,” the report added. He is then due to appear again on April 8, “when pleas may be entered.’ Mr Hawkins died in hospital after being found with a knife wound at a property in Hardy Street, Hull, on Wednesday night.

Hawkins graduated from Freeport High School on Long Island and moved to the U.K. in 2022 to study at the University of Hull. In a statement released by Humberside Police, his mother said her son “loved his family and friends, they meant the world to him.” She said the young man “wanted to make everyone proud and was a role model for the younger generation.” 

She told NBC News that she last spoke to Hawkins a few days before his death. “What triggered it? That’s the question we’re all asking. Why Sachin,” she asked. “None of his friends, his other friends, who were there no one knows.”

The family has created a GoFundMe to bring his body home to Freeport to be cremated under Hindu rights. “He was on the brink of living his life fully – with optimism, dreams, and a path forward,” wrote organizer Nisha Persad. “He wanted to be a teacher to help children and give to this world a part of the beautiful soul that he will always be,” she added. “He was so cruelly taken from us… taken away from his heartbroken mother, father, stepmom, siblings, grandparents, and extended family.”

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Meanwhile, the University of Hull issued a statement expressing “shock” and sadness by the death. “We are shocked and saddened by the death of one of our students and we offer our deepest condolences to Sachin’s family and friends,” the statement read. “We are an incredibly close-knit university community and we are supporting those who were close to Sachin, as well as our staff and students at this incredibly difficult time. We continue to work with Humberside Police to support their ongoing investigation.”

Freeport Superintendent of Schools, Dr Kishore Kuncham, also paid tribute to Sachin who was a graduate of Freeport High School. ‘We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Sachin Hawkins, a truly wonderful human being, a gentle giant in every sense, not just in stature but in his kind and compassionate nature.”