
Gang murdered tourist after following him from party mansion made famous by Bonnie Blue
Antonis Antoniadis, 26, was targeted after he left 32 Portland Place nightclub, in Marylebone, west London.
Following an Old Bailey trial, Shian Johnson, 26, Sofian Alliche, 20, his brother Amin Alliche, 18, Joshua McCorquodale, 20, and Alfie Hipple, 18, all from Camden, north London, were found guilty of murder and conspiracy to rob.
The defendants were taken down from the dock after one of them reacted with an angry outburst, accusing the jury of 'ruining' his life.
The jury had deliberated for more than 14 hours to reach its unanimous verdicts, with one of them leaving court in tears.
Judge Rebecca Trowler KC adjourned sentencing until October 3.
The court heard how Greek printing firm office worker Mr Antoniadis had come on holiday to London for a week with two friends called Maria and Tia.
They ended up at the 32 Portland Place nightclub in Marylebone in the early hours of July 7, jurors were told.
The venue, owned by Edward 'Fast Eddie' Davenport, came to public attention when it hosted OnlyFans personality Bonnie Blue in her attempt to sleep with more than 1,000 men in 12 hours.
On the evening before the murder, the robbers followed a yellow Lamborghini and a Mercedes car before fixing on the victim, who was carrying a Lacoste man bag and wearing a designer Versace watch.
Mr Antoniadis and his two female friends did not leave Portland Place until after 8am and had booked an Uber to get back to a friend's address in New Cross, south-east London, where they were staying.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC said the tourists had no idea that the young men hanging around outside the nightclub in a stolen car were on the lookout for someone to rob.
He said: 'It seems that when that group of five saw Antonis come out of the club, those robbers thought they had found a suitable target.
'So when they saw him come out and get into his Uber, they, in their stolen car, followed him.'
The defendants trailed the Uber car for more than half an hour to its destination on the opposite side of London, the court heard.
As one of Mr Antoniadis's friends struggled to find the door key upon arriving at the address, he was approached by four figures in hoods and balaclavas.
The fifth member of the gang acted as the getaway driver, jurors were told.
Mr Antoniadis managed to hit one of the robbers with a brandy bottle as the group tried to grab his man bag.
Mr Emlyn Jones said: 'Tragically, whether it was brave or whether it was just an instinctive response, that reaction was to cost him his life.'
The victim was punched and kicked and then stabbed in the chest and thigh, severing his femoral artery.
The attackers, at least two of whom were carrying large knives, then fled the scene in the getaway car, leaving the victim bleeding heavily.
Mr Antoniadis was treated at the scene and taken to hospital where attempts were made to save his life, but he died from his injuries on July 21 last year.
The car used by the robbers – a stolen Kia Sportage with false number plates – was captured on CCTV and the defendants were also linked through cell site data.
Jurors heard McCorquodale had convictions in 2022 for conspiracy to rob and robbery relating to mobile phone snatching and trying to take an electric bicycle with an accomplice.
When police searched his home they found a machete, a Zombie knife and two balaclavas.
Both McCorquodale and Johnson denied being present at the time of the murder, saying they left earlier that evening.
Within days of the murder, Johnson and his girlfriend had taken a flight to Cancun in Mexico and booked into an all-inclusive hotel resort and spa. They failed to return on their scheduled flight back to Gatwick on July 24.
Four days later, police were waiting at Gatwick airport and they boarded a flight that arrived from Madrid to arrest Johnson on suspicion of murder.
Johnson had a conviction for possessing a knife in Camden High Street in 2015, and a machete and balaclava were found at his home.
The court heard Sofian Alliche had a previous conviction for robbing a man on Regent's Canal towpath in 2019.
In a search of the Alliche brothers' home, officers seized two balaclavas, a Louis Vuitton man bag, a large sword and drug paraphernalia.
Amin Alliche admitted being the driver but claimed he did not leave the car at the scene of the murder, as did his sibling Sofian.
Hipple admitted leaving the car in New Cross but claimed to be unaware of the robbery and had only taken a mobile phone in an opportunistic theft.
Jurors heard he had a conviction in 2022 for possessing an offensive weapon in public relating to a police stop in which he was found with a knife in a sheath tucked into his waistband.
Detective Chief Inspector Kate Blackburn, Specialist Crime South, said: 'Antonis had been visiting from Greece with friends. Very tragically he never made it home to his family.
'This was a particularly challenging and complex case given the lack of CCTV at the scene and the movement of the vehicle, which had been driven by the defendants continuously throughout the night of July 6 and into the following afternoon.
'I would like to thank in particular Antonis' friends, who had witnessed his brutal murder and returned to the UK to give their evidence.
'I would also like to thank the witnesses who came forward and helped us to understand what had happened to Antonis.
'I am pleased our concerted efforts to find those responsible has enabled us to achieve justice for Antonis' loved ones, family, and friends.'

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BBC News
11 minutes ago
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Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Britain's Car Boot King with 19 children, the cleaner who became his second wife - and a bitter war over his '£43million fortune'
On a chilly day in December 2017, an unpleasant incident unfolded at a sprawling estate called Moat Hall Farm near Knutsford in Cheshire. Police had arrived after a neighbour called Adam Scott complained building work was taking place at the house, about which he was most unhappy. That much, said police, was a civil matter. But things took a bizarre turn when the estate owner's dog – a Labrador Shar Pei cross tethered to a 20-metre chain – pounced on PC Simon Banks, dragged him to the ground and sank its teeth into his thigh, leaving severe puncture wounds that required stitches. It was a sorry and rather unusual business – and also, it emerged, only one part of the story. For when the altercation ended in a Stockport court, the presiding magistrate heard something else: that the reason for this distressing confrontation came down to a bitter inheritance feud. Resident at the Moat Hall estate was Adam's elderly father Richard, 81 – known as the Car Boot King courtesy of his enormously successful car boot business and the ITV show Car Boot Challenge which he hosted on his land – and his second wife Jennifer, who at 60 is two years younger than Adam. The couple had married in 2016 following a 23-year relationship, and there was tension over what would happen to the estate when Richard passed away. That phone call to police in December had been one of many, as well as to social services and the Court of Protection. But this was merely the beginning of this bitter family saga. Six months after the attack, Richard died from cancer – leaving the entire estate to his wife. Seven years on, and the inheritance row is not only still blazing, but currently playing out in London's High Court. On one side is divorced father-of-three Adam, Richard's second eldest son who for many years was viewed as the family golden boy. 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In the wake of the tragedy, Richard's mother moved into the farmhouse to look after her grandchildren, although Richard Harry, Adam, Rachael and Giles were sent to boarding school. A subsequent relationship with a woman called Valerie Ingleby ended in 1993, although they remained friends, following which Richard advertised for a cleaner. A local woman called Jennifer Redgrave applied and got the job – but, within a year, that relationship had moved from a professional to a romantic one. In 1995, Jennifer gave birth to Gordon, the first of seven children she would share with Richard, the youngest of whom is now 20. A year after Jennifer arrived on the scene, Richard started a car boot sale business known as Chelford Car Boot, over which he deployed typical sleight of hand. Planning rules meant that a single 'unit' (or piece of land) was entitled to run only 14 car boot events a year. So Richard granted tenancies to both his ex-girlfriend Valerie and to Adam – thereby allowing another 14 car boot events to be held on each of the two other parcels of land. Either way, the car boot sales were a huge success and caught the attention of ITV producers, who asked Richard if they could use his fields to film their popular series Car Boot Challenge. Difficult and domineering though he may have been, Richard was undoubtedly a canny businessman – amassing vast tracts of land throughout Cheshire and multiple properties. Quite what would happen to it all in the wake of his death was initially set down in a 1995 will – undisputed by both sides – in which Richard gave Adam a 40-year tenancy of the farm and an option to purchase it at its probate value. Before the end of the year, Richard had signed two wills disinheriting Adam and leaving Jennifer (pictured right) in control of his wealth. Richard died in June 2018, 18 months after making his final will. By that point Adam claims his dementia had spiralled out of control As a consequence, as his barrister Constance McDonnell KC told the court, Adam dedicated himself to the farm at the expense of his personal relationships. In submissions to the court, he claimed to have not only sacrificed holidays, a social life and time with his children because of the demands placed on him by his father, but his romantic relationships, with both his first serious relationship and his marriage to wife Melanie breaking down. At some point, relations with his father and Jennifer also broke down. In 2011 Richard was diagnosed with dementia and, two years later, Adam attempted to get his father sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Richard's GP, a psychiatrist, the police and two nurses visited his home – although on arrival they determined that he had mental capacity. 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He is also bringing an alternative claim under the law of 'proprietary estoppel' – a legal remedy that can be used when a landowner has promised property will be transferred to someone else at a later date, only to renege on it. It perhaps says a great deal about the level of division in the Scott family that they cannot even agree on what Richard's estate is worth. While an initial probate valuation taken out after his death stated that the total market value of the properties was £5,031,366 – updated in January this year to £7,767,510 – Jennifer maintains she has received offers for some but not all of the properties ranging between £14.5 million to £28.8 million. Other reports have, at points, estimated Richard's total worth including other investments to have been as high as £43million. Quite how this saga will end remains to be seen: with both sides having presented their case, judgement is now expected later this year. Whatever the verdict however, it seems unlikely that the combat that has dogged this family will cease any time soon.


Daily Mail
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