A cousin of a man who was killed in an East Ham greenway last week has said his entire family have been left “heartbroken” by the death.
Mantas Ziedavicius, 29, of no fixed address, was stabbed in a greenway next to Lonsdale Avenue at about 1.30am last Tuesday.
Police officers and paramedics rushed to the scene where they found Mr Ziedavicius, a Lithuanian national, collapsed on the footpath but he was pronounced dead soon after.
Police have charged 43-year-old Pavels Rozkovs from Hastings and Hennaidy Yelizarou, 21, of no fixed address, with the murder of Mr Ziedavicius.
Rozkovs is remanded in custody and is set to appear at the Old Bailey today.
Mr Ziedavicius' cousin, who lives in Hackney, has told the Recorder that the family was "devastated after hearing the news".
He added: "It is really sad news and the family have taken it badly. Mantas was a good guy and we were supposed to meet quite soon for a family reunion."
Yelizarou appeared at Barkingside Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
A post-mortem examination carried out at East Ham Mortuary on Thursday identified that a stab wound caused Mr Ziedavicius's death.
Mr Ziedavicius was an agency worker who was believed to be living in Newham.
Anyone with information about his death is asked to contact the incident room on 020 8345 3863 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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