Two drug dealers who stabbed a young man to death in a case of mistaken identity in London have each been jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years.
Sven Badzak, 22, and a friend, 16, were attacked by a group of six young men in Kilburn, north-west London, on 6 February 2021.
Badzak was repeatedly stabbed after falling to the ground, while his friend sustained multiple stab injuries but managed to run to a nearby supermarket for help.
After a trial at the Old Bailey, Rashid Gedel, 22, from Ilford, and Shiroh Ambersley, 23, from Wembley, were found guilty of murder. They were acquitted of attempted murder of the 16-year-old but convicted of wounding with intent.
Anthony Orchard KC, prosecuting, said the victims were targeted in a “gang-style attack” over what the killers regarded as their drugs territory.
He told the court previously: “Neither victim was a gang member or associate. It appears they were the unfortunate victims of mistaken identity.”
Badzak sustained four injuries, one of which was fatal, and his friend had one injury to his back that was “nearly fatal”, Orchard said.
Badzak’s mother, Jasna, watched the sentencing online and in a witness statement read out loud, said her son was the “kindest person to walk the earth”.
“For me, Sven was everything, my reason to live, my only child, more than the apple of my eye, my love, my full support, my best friend.”
The mother of the 16-year-old said in a witness statement that her son was “suffering mentally with PTSD, night terrors, flashbacks and has withdrawn completely socially”.
She said they had had to relocate and change their names “due to ongoing threats”.
Melanie Simpson KC, defending Gedel, said he “clearly expressed regret” when giving evidence.
She said he was placed in care at the age of 13 and experienced 14 different care placements.
Brian St Louis KC, defending Ambersley, said: “We suggest the defendant’s offending relates to his youth, his lack of maturity and lack of supervision.”
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 had not returned, jurors were told.
The remaining two suspects had not yet been identified.
Judge John Dodd KC called the eight-second attack “brutal and savage and swift”.
“Sven Badzak was clearly a decent young man. He was 22 when you attacked and killed him,” he told the convicted men. “It’s clear that he’d done absolutely nothing wrong on that February day.”
Gedel and Ambersley were both sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years for murder, and 12 years for wounding with intent, to run concurrently.
Canavan was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for manslaughter and 15 months for unlawful wounding, to run concurrently.
