The day good ran into evil: Finbar Sullivan’s murder sums up lawless London. Now a friend reveals his chilling final call as attack unfolded

Finbar Sullivan’s Instagram page still says ‘Follow your dreams’ at the top.

That’s exactly what the young film student, who has just turned 21, was doing on Tuesday when he grabbed the new Sony camera he bought with his birthday money (broadcast quality because he knew where his future lay) and headed out into the sunshine of London’s Primrose Hill, not far from home.

Finbar, grandson of legendary cinematographer Michael Seresin, must have grown up knowing more about cinema than most.

His grandfather was behind the ‘look’ of some of Hollywood’s most iconic films, featuring in hits such as Bugsy Malone, Midnight Express, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

When friends asked Michael Seresin what exactly he did, he told them: ‘I tell stories with cameras, lenses, light.’

It was the most glorious afternoon in the capital, and Finbar knew he would get some spectacular views as the ‘magic hour’ approached, when the sun set and shed a golden light.

It is almost inconceivable that the contents of this new camera will now form part of the police investigation into Finbar’s murder.

He left his home in Maida Vale, north-west London, at around 4.30pm and said he would be home later to cook dinner for his father, artist and musician Chris Sullivan, who is also one of London’s leading lights in the arts world.

He was due to arrive in Primrose Hill at around 5pm, just a few miles from home, after arranging to meet friends, including his best friend AJ, who was visiting from Nottingham University for the Easter break.

They planned to do what young people do on sunny afternoons in London: relax, play music (Finbar has made videos for up-and-coming rappers), chat.

But at 6.41pm, Finbar had been fatally stabbed when police were called to reports of a fight at the top of Primrose Hill, where the view stretched across the city.

He suffered multiple injuries, including a fatal injury to his leg and severed an artery. His friend AJ was also probably injured (Finbar’s family believes) while trying to protect Finbar. It was 6:45 p.m. when AJ staggered into a nearby bar for shelter.

There were frantic scenes as terrified bystanders, including a woman with a son of the same age, tried to save Finbar’s life, holding him and comforting him.

Paramedics attempted CPR for 20 minutes, but when his distraught father arrived, alerted by friends, Finbar was gone and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Within minutes, images of the fight spread on social media.

It shows Finbar pulling up his trousers and stumbling away, apparently having been stabbed. He is holding a bag.

AJ is seen punching a man wielding a knife, then the man retreats as Finbar comes down the hill. A bloodstain is clearly visible on AJ’s back.

Shocking scenes. How can this happen in a corner once considered one of the safest corners of London?

Finbar’s heartbroken father told the Daily Mail about the family’s devastation and shock.

Chris and Finbar’s mother, Leah Seresin, who was also a filmmaker like her father, were divorced, but Finbar was a much-loved only child.

The Daily Mail spent this week talking to friends and what emerged was a picture of a kind and creative soul.

‘Beautiful, cute, outgoing,’ said her father. ‘He’s a great little 21-year-old kid who loves movies and making movies. ‘He didn’t drink, he didn’t smoke, he didn’t go out.’

Gang involvement? “Absolutely not,” Chris insisted.

In fact, ‘it would take him a very long time to get a scooter and go to school because he would avoid all the areas where there were gangs.’

Was Finbar involved in the fight that broke out, or was he attacked indiscriminately, as his family insists?

The police investigation will look into this, but initial reports certainly suggest events are evolving at a shocking pace.

We can reveal that Finbar was actually on the phone with a friend when the violence broke out.

Fellow film student Raphael Bishop-Sauve was shaking as he said he called his friend at 6.39pm; just two minutes before police received the emergency call.

Raphael, who works as an actor, had previously made arrangements to meet Finbar, whom he knew from the London Academy of Film, the film school they both attended, in Soho later that evening, as he was unable to contact him in Primrose Hill because of his work.

‘He was supposed to come with me to Soho to do some writing. We were close. We were trying to work with each other, help each other. ‘I’m an actor and he’s a cameraman, so we wanted to get the job done.’

They had first discussed their plans at 4pm that day, before Finbar left the house. ‘We wanted to sit at the bar and write down some ideas. Every time we met there was always the same energy and positivity.

‘Come down,’ he said [to Primrose Hill] But I couldn’t do it because I was at work. He called me later but I missed his call. I saw he was calling and asked if I could take a smoke break so I could call him back.’

The two-minute conversation the two shared when Raphael called Finbar was their last conversation.

‘I finish work at 7pm, so come as soon as possible,’ I said. He said, ‘Yeah, I’m with my other friends and we’re just hanging out.’ ‘They will come too’. Lime said they would come with their bike.

‘But as soon as I said this, the phone went silent. Then I could hear screams, grunts, and heavy breathing.

‘I was so scared and said, ‘Fin, call me back as soon as you can.’ And I hung up the phone.’

He explained that he had no idea what was going on, but it was clear that the situation was very serious.

‘I’m a very anxious person and I didn’t want him to see me on the phone while he was trying to get away from a situation. “Call me when you can,” I told him.

‘I then tried to call him and left a message. ‘When I later checked the time of the call I saw that it was the same time the news report said the paramedic had been called.’

Raphael also knows AJ. He went to school with ‘Fin’. He’s also a really nice guy with a lovely soul. I’m very worried about him.’

AJ, who was studying economics at Nottingham, is thought to have been hospitalised. It is considered that the injured person’s life is not in danger.

“God knows why they were attacked,” Raphael added. ‘I wish I knew why. They were only spending one day on the hill. If I hadn’t gone to work and gone there, I might have been in a similar situation.’

He still looked shocked. ‘He was an angelic soul,’ he said of Finbar. ‘He had a pure heart. Whether you knew him or not, he made you feel very welcome.’

He was also an ambitious young man. “He had a whole website for his videography,” Raphael explained. ‘He’s done so much. He was making things work for him. It’s a terrible thing to happen to someone who works hard and stays on their own path.’

Our reporters spoke to a group of Finbar’s friends from Maida Vale who gathered this week to pay their respects and console each other.

There were touching scenes as his favorite reggae music was played. Although he was pursuing a career in the rap world (where he went by the name Sully), reggae was his first love.

Sam Smedley, 21, an electrician, said Fin was kind, respected for being a problem solver and popular with his peers.

‘Fin was such a man that if someone had a problem with him then it was okay. He has no bad blood. He solves things quickly. He was a happy man, you know.’

On Wednesday, Chris Sullivan, 65, paid an emotional tribute to his only child, telling us he was a talented young man with a bright future ahead of him.

Once summoned, Mr Sullivan rushed to the scene in an Uber but was not allowed through police lines.

‘He is my only son. “I gave birth to him when I was 45,” she told us.

‘His place can never be replaced. This is the worst tragedy I can imagine. ‘I’m so heartbroken I can’t believe it.’

In another interview with The Times, she said: ‘I called my son Finbar because I knew he would be famous and I wanted him to have a name that everyone would recognise.

‘I never thought he would be on the front pages for his own murder. This is Hell. Finbar was very, very handsome. Everyone here knew and loved him. “He was like an angel.”

Mr Sullivan was involved in London’s music scene in the 80s, co-founding the band Blue Rondo a la Turk and the famous Wag Club in Soho.

He has recently focused on art. Poignantly, one of his most treasured portraits is that of his son.

It is already clear that the young man’s legacy will be protected by his father. ‘The only thing I know now is that I will dedicate the rest of my life to Finbar’s name,’ he said.

‘I want something good to come out of this terrible event. Everyone loved Finbar. We looked at each other. ‘He had a lot to live for.’

Finbar’s death sent shockwaves around Primrose Hill, one of London’s wealthiest areas. Local residents include Alan Bennett, Daniel Craig and Jude Law.

But despite having a traditionally ‘safe’ image, the Hill is witnessing an increase in violence.

On New Year’s Eve 2023, 16-year-old Harry Pitman was stabbed to death.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the MP for the area, called for permanent gates to be installed around the hill as early as 2021 due to reports of increased fighting, noise and disturbance.

The gates are currently in place but only close between 22:00 and 06:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the summer months.

It is touching that the police appealed to some of the young men who were on the hill on Tuesday to come forward.

In particular, they want to track down anyone who captured the events leading to Finbar’s death on their cameras.

Footage of the fight was indeed shared on social media and police believe there may be more photo or video evidence that could help catch Finbar’s killer, who remains at large.

This was certainly not the ending this young storyteller expected or deserved when he walked out with his new camera.

And what a tragedy that this story will be the one he remembers.