Man who stabbed Porsche driver in central London jailed for life
He claimed he was acting in self-defence
A man who stabbed a Porsche driver to death in central London has been jailed for life.
Awad Abdel Samad had claimed he acted in self-defence when he killed Mohamed Abdi in June 2024, but a court heard the 24 year old believed the teenager had been involved in the kidnapping of his friend and took the chance to exact revenge
Samad was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years by Judge Lynn Tayton who said;
"You acted with extreme aggression and persistence in attacking Mr Abdi.
"I am satisfied this was a revenge attack and you acted as part of a group.
"It took place on a congested street where there were many people in vehicles and on foot.
"You can see how terrifying this was to members of the public."
The incident on June 4 involved the occupants of two cars who knew each other and were heading in the same direction in heavy traffic.
Samad was in the front passenger seat of a Seat Leon, which was being driven by Mohamad Mahmoud El-Hazzaa, the court heard.
The victim, Mr Abdi, was driving a Porsche Cayenne, which he pulled close up behind the defendants' car, flashing his lights.
Both cars stopped and Samad got out of the vehicle with a knife.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC previously told jurors: "It is, you might have thought, like something from the Wild West.
"Mohamed Abdi clearly saw him coming and got out. The two of them then started to fight - Mohamed Abdi was also armed with a knife.
"But within a few seconds of the start of their fighting, the defendant gained a crucial advantage.
"He swung a kick and managed to kick Mohamed Abdi's knife out of his hand, on to the road. So that meant that now, only one of them had a knife - the defendant."
The disarmed victim retreated and got back into the Porsche, pursued by the defendant, who reached him before he shut the car door, the court was told.
Samad then stabbed Mr Abdi three times, including once in the chest, which went through the cartilage of the ribs and into the heart, the court heard.
As the defendant made off in the Seat Leon, Mr Abdi managed to drive forward into Bell Street where he died, despite efforts of members of the public and paramedics.
In a victim impact statement read out in court, Mr Abdi's mother, Sharon, and his sister, Amirah, described him as a "cherished son and a loving brother" and "a young man who had much to live for".
Judge Tayton said: "They fear his life has been stolen."
El-Hazzaa was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
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