Aspiring lawyer killed leaving Waitrose ‘in a case of mistaken identity’
AN ASPIRING lawyer was stabbed to death by gang members after a trip to Waitrose in a case of mistaken identity, a court heard.
Sven Badzak, 22, and a 16year-old friend were knifed by six youths in an attack lasting ‘no more than 20 seconds’ while walking from the supermarket, jurors were told.
University graduate Mr Badzak was stabbed three times in the back and once in the chest, a fatal blow that pierced his heart, Anthony Orchard KC, prosecuting, told the Old Bailey.
His friend suffered multiple stab wounds but managed to run away and survived the attack in Kilburn, north-west London, on February 6, 2021.
Rashid Gedel, 22, from Ilford, and Shiroh Ambersley, 22, from Wembley, are on trial at the Central Criminal Court accused of murder, attempted murder and an alternative charge of wounding with intent.
Harvey Canavan, 19, from Maida Vale, had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and unlawful wounding and another suspect, Lior Agbayan, fled abroad shortly after Mr Badzak’s murder, the jury was told.
Mr Orchard said yesterday the stabbings appeared to have been a ‘gang-style attack’.
‘Neither victim was a gang member or associate. It appears they were the unfortunate victims of mistaken identity,’ he added.
Eight minutes before the fatal stabbing, Gedel and Ambersley had gone into a bakery and were looking for other young people to attack, Mr Orchard said.
Meanwhile, the two victims were walking back from a Waitrose supermarket half a mile away, with Mr Badzak’s friend watching a football match 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.’ At 5.37pm, Mr
Badzak and his friend crossed paths with their attackers, who stopped them on the pavement and asked ‘What are you on?’ the survivor told police.
Mr Badzak was then stabbed in the chest and his friend knifed in the back, but the pair managed to run away with their attackers in pursuit, the court heard.
As Mr Badzak ran, he dropped his Waitrose shopping bag before collapsing outside a burger restaurant, jurors were told.
Mr Orchard said: ‘His attackers catch up with him on the ground. It appears that he was kicked and punched.
‘During the totality of the attack, he was stabbed four times. His phone fell to the ground. No attacker attempted to retrieve it. At least one of those attacking him shouted out.
‘The attack on Sven Badzak lasts no more than 20 seconds.’ The 16-year- old sprinted into a Tesco supermarket where he screamed for help and collapsed. The attackers gave up the chase and fled, the prosecutor said.
Privately educated Roehampton University graduate Mr Badzak, the son of former Conservative Party activist Jasna Badzak, who watched the court proceedings remotely yesterday, was pronounced dead less than an hour after the attack.
Mr Orchard said Gedel and Ambersley were identified from CCTV footage. Gedel was also implicated by mobile phone evidence and ‘ boasts’ on social media afterwards.
The other two suspects have not been identified.
Gedel and Ambersley have denied the charges against them. The trial continues.