A man who stabbed a Porsche driver to death in central London in scenes likened to the “Wild West” has been jailed for life with a minimum of 27 years.
Awad Abdel Samad, 24, had claimed he acted in self-defence when he killed Mohamed Abdi, 19, in Edgware Road on the evening of 4 June last year.
Samad believed Mr Abdi had been involved in the kidnapping and torture of his friend two days before and was seeking revenge, a judge told the Old Bailey on Thursday.
Judge Lynn Tayton said Samad had “acted with extreme aggression and persistence in attacking Mr Abdi”. He added that the attack took place on a congested street and that he believed it was a revenge attack and that Samad was acting as part of a group.
Edgware Road attack
On 2 June, the defendant’s friend, Soufian Chafi, was kidnapped and tortured – footage of the attack posted online showed him “naked and being humiliated”, the judge told the court.
Samad and his co-defendant Mohamad Mahmoud El-Hazzaa, 27, from Westminster, both believed Mr Abdi was involved, the court heard.
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“There is evidence that Mohammed Abdi, the victim in this case, had been involved in that attack,” Judge Tayton said.
“In any event, I am satisfied that the two of you believed that he was and that a black Porsche Cayenne car was also connected to it.”
On 4 June the occupants of two cars who knew each other were heading in the same direction in heavy traffic.
Samad was in the front passenger seat of a Seat Leon, which was being driven by El-Hazzaa, the court heard.
The victim, Mr Abdi, was driving a Porsche Cayenne, which he pulled up close behind the defendants’ car, flashing his lights.
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Both cars stopped and Samad got out of the Seat Leon with a knife.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC previously told jurors the scene was “like something from the Wild West”.
‘They fear his life has been stolen’
He described how Mr Abdi clearly saw him coming and got out of his car. The two of them then started to fight – Mr Abdi was also armed with a knife. However, within a few seconds of the start of their fight, the defendant gained a crucial advantage.
“He swung a kick and managed to kick Mohamed Abdi’s knife out of his hand, on to the road. So that meant that now, only one of them had a knife – the defendant.”
The disarmed victim retreated and got back into the Porsche, pursued by the defendant, who reached him before he shut the car door, the court was told.
Samad then stabbed Mr Abdi three times, including once in the chest, which went through the cartilage of the ribs and into the heart, the court heard.
As the defendant made off, Mr Abdi managed to drive forward into Bell Street where he died, despite efforts of members of the public and paramedics.
Mr Abdi’s mother, Sharon, and his sister, Amirah, described him in a victim impact statement read out in court as a “cherished son and a loving brother” and “a young man who had much to live for”.
Judge Tayton said: “They fear his life has been stolen.”
El-Hazzaa was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
