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Grammy-winning songwriter Talay Riley killed in East London

Published 8 June 2026

Talay Riley, a Grammy-winning British-Nigerian singer and songwriter celebrated for shaping contemporary R&B and pop music, died on Friday, June 5, after a fatal stabbing in East London. He was 35 years old.

Metropolitan Police were called shortly after 9 a.m. to Pankhurst Avenue in Silvertown, where Riley, whose real name was Mark Olabanji A. Olayinka Orabiyi, was found with stab wounds in the garden of a residential property. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A second man, also in his 20s, was found with multiple stab wounds and was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening or life-changing.

A murder investigation by the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Crime Command is ongoing. Three people were initially arrested on suspicion of murder. A 24-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman have since been released with no further action, while a 27-year-old man has been released on bail pending further enquiries. Detectives have not publicly disclosed a motive. Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke, leading the investigation, described the incident as tragic and appealed for witnesses, CCTV footage, or any information from individuals in the area on Friday...

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