A GANG wearing balaclavas murdered a tourist after following him home from a London nightclub in a botched bag robbery.
The 27-year-old man was visiting from Greece and on a night out with friends before he was followed for eight miles and brutally robbed and knifed to death.
PAAlfie Hipple and four others were found guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit robbery[/caption]
PAAntonis Antoniadis, 27, was stabbed to death after resisting the robbery last July[/caption]
Five men have now been found guilty of murder following the botched robbery.
Antonis Antoniadis, 27, had gone to a nightclub near Oxford Circus with friends in the early hours of July 7 last year before he was robbed and knifed to death.
They left the club at around 8.15am and caught a taxi back to Florence Terrace, New Cross, where they were staying with a friend.
What they didn’t know was that they were being followed by a gang who had spent several hours in central London in a stolen car.
They followed Antonis and his friends for eight miles and more than 30 minutes back to New Cross.
As Antonis and his friends were attempting to get into their address, Sofian Alliche, Shian Johnson, Joshua McCorquodale, and Alfie Hipple exited the vehicle.
The other, Amin Alliche, who was 17 years old at the time, remained in the driver’s seat of the car.
The group of four, all wearing balaclavas and armed with large knives, grabbed Antonis’ bag before they stabbed him in the chest and right thigh.
The wound to Antonis’ leg severed his femoral artery causing catastrophic blood loss.
He initially survived the attack and fought for his life in hospital for two weeks before passing away on Sunday, July 21 last year.
The four men in balaclavas then returned to their car with Antonis’ mobile phone.
Amin Alliche then drove them across the Thames to Northwest London where they sold the device.
After returning to their “home turf” in Camden, they hid the stolen vehicle under a car cover.
There was no CCTV of the attack but after a gruelling investigation, the police tracked the gang’s movements and recovered the stolen car which ultimately proved they were responsible for killing Antonis.
Several of their addresses were searched during the investigation where a number of weapons were seized.
A zombie knife, five machetes, two swords, two lock knives and seven other knives were found.
Amin Alliche,18, Sofian Alliche, 20, both of Bury Place, Holborn, Shian Johnson, 26, of Argyle Walk, King’s Cross, Joshua McCorquodale, 20, of Upper Park Road, Chalk Farm, and Alfie Hipple, 18, of Kentish Town Road, Camden, were all found guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit robbery following an eight-week trial at the Old Bailey.
They will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, October 3.
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 6 July 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.”
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
