Gang ‘followed and killed tourist after failed bag snatch'
A gang of five allegedly followed and stabbed a Greek tourist multiple times after a failed attempt to steal his bag, a court has heard.
Antonis Antoniadis, 26, was allegedly followed and attacked on a doorstep in New Cross, south-east London, on July 7 last year.
He died two weeks later from his injuries.
Four men – Shian Johnson, 25, Sofian Alliche, 20, Joshua McCorquodale, 20, and Alfie Hipple, 18 – as well as a 17-year-old youth are charged with his murder and planning to rob his personal items.
Opening their trial at the Old Bailey on Thursday, William Emlyn Jones KC, prosecuting, said the defendants tracked Mr Antoniadis across London before fatally stabbing him in the chest and thigh as he tried to defend himself on the ground, causing 'catastrophic blood loss'.
Mr Antoniadis, who travelled to London for a week's holiday with two friends, went to the 32 Portland Place nightclub in Marylebone in the early hours of July 7, jurors were told.
The trio did not leave the venue until after 8am and booked an Uber back to a friend's address in New Cross where they were staying.
Mr Emlyn Jones said: 'They had no idea that five young men had been hanging around outside that nightclub all night in a stolen car, looking for someone they could rob.
'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 then followed the taxi for more than half an hour to its destination, the court heard.
As one of Antoniadis's friends struggled to find the house key upon arriving at the address, the victim 'was approached by four figures in hoods and balaclavas', with the fifth group member acting as a getaway driver, the prosecutor said.
Mr Antoniadis managed to hit one of the robbers with a brandy bottle as he struggled against the group, who appeared to want to take a bag he was carrying.
'Tragically, whether it was brave or whether it was just an instinctive response, that reaction was to cost him his life,' Mr Emlyn Jones said.
At least two of the attackers were carrying large knives, the court heard.
After he was punched and kicked by the attackers, Mr Antoniadis was then stabbed in the middle of the chest and suffered a large, deep stab wound to his right thigh, severing his femoral artery.
He also suffered cuts and bruises to his face and head and wounds to his arms, the prosecutor said.
The attackers then fled the scene in the getaway car, leaving the victim to bleed to death.
There was no CCTV footage of the incident, but some or all of the incident was heard or seen by a number of people, the court heard.
Antoniadis was treated at the scene and taken to hospital where attempts were made to save his life, but he later died from his injuries on July 21 last year.
Mr Emlyn Jones said: 'It is the prosecution case that the five robbers were the five young men sitting in the dock in this room, and that all five of them are jointly responsible for the murder.'
The prosecutor told jurors the group were 'clearly prepared to use really serious violence' in their efforts to rob Antoniadis's possessions.
The car allegedly used by the robbers – a stolen Kia Sportage with false number plates – was captured on CCTV on two occasions leaving the area around the nightclub and following a different car on the night of July 7, the court heard.
All five defendants, from Camden, north London, deny murder and conspiracy to commit robbery.
The trial continues.
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