Two drug dealers who stabbed an aspiring lawyer to death in a case of mistaken identity as he returned from a trip to Waitrose have each been jailed for life.
Sven Badzak, 22, and a 16-year-old friend were attacked by a group of six young men as they walked in Kilburn, north-west London, on the afternoon of 6 February, 2021.
Mr Badzak, from Maida Hill, west London, was repeatedly stabbed after falling to the ground, while his friend suffered multiple stab injuries but managed to escape into a nearby supermarket on Willesden Lane.
Rashid Gedel, 22, from Ilford, and Shiroh Ambersley, 23, from Wembley, were both sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years at the Old Bailey on Thursday, after they were found guilty of murder following a trial at the same court on 7 July.
The jury deliberated for over 25 hours before they delivered the guilty verdicts by a majority of 10 to two, acquitting the pair of attempted murder but convicting both of wounding with intent.
Mr Badzak’s mother Jasna, a former Conservative Party activist, had attended the trial by video link after it was delayed due to industrial action by barristers last summer.
Prosecutor Anthony Orchard KC said the victims were targeted in a “gang-style attack” over what the killers regarded as their drugs territory.
He told jurors: “Neither victim was a gang member or associate. It appears they were the unfortunate victims of mistaken identity.”
Both defendants, who were identified on CCTV, admitted to being at the scene as well as to carrying knives in the past and drug dealing in the area. Although they denied they were carrying knives that day and claimed they were only there to sell drugs.
Eight minutes before the murder, they had gone to a bakery looking for other young people to attack, it was alleged. Gedel was caught on CCTV “inspecting” two hooded youths at the counter before walking out of the shop.
Meanwhile, the two victims had been to the Waitrose on Finchley Road, about half a mile away. As they walked back, the 16-year-old was watching a Liverpool football game on his phone.
Mr Orchard said: “As the two friends walked west on Willesden Lane, Gedel drew closer to them. Sven Badzak and his friend were wholly unaware of what was about to happen.”
Jurors were shown CCTV footage of the pair walking together when their paths crossed with the killers, with one of the attackers asking: “What are you on?”
The 16-year-old was stabbed in the back but managed to run off, pursued by some of the attackers, into a Tesco supermarket where he sought help and collapsed. Mr Badzak was stabbed in the chest and dropped his Waitrose shopping bag as he fled and collapsed outside a burger restaurant.
Mr Orchard said: “His attackers catch up with him on the ground. It appears he was kicked and punched. During the totality of the attack, he was stabbed four times.”
Harvey Canavan, 19, from Maida Vale, had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and unlawful wounding and Lior Agbayan, 20, had fled to the Ivory Coast and has not returned, jurors were told.
The remaining two suspects have not been identified, the court heard.