Cyclist guilty of stabbing BMW driver to death

Jul 19, 2024

A cyclist has been found guilty of stabbing a BMW driver to death after they knocked over his bike and dragged it along the road.

Ahmed Gonladieu, 25, attacked Alexandros Josephs, 29, through his open car window on 10 May, last year, the Old Bailey was told.

Mr Josephs drove a short distance before crashing into a line of parked cars, the trial heard.

Gonladieu fled the scene in Malyons Road, Ladywell, southeast London, where Mr Josephs was pronounced dead, jurors heard.

In his defence, Gonladieu claimed a passenger in Mr Josephs’ car had reached for a knife.

The defendant said he grabbed the blade and stabbed the driver in self-defence as Mr Josephs had a gun.

However, the court was told Gonladieu initially said nothing, and then claimed he had simply run away from the scene.

After blood belonging to the victim was found on his trousers, he later changed his story.

On Friday, a jury rejected his claims and found him guilty of murder and having a bladed article.

Mr Josephs’ family burst into tears as the verdicts were delivered following just over eight hours of jury deliberations.

Gonladieu will be sentenced on 23 July.

Previously, Jacob Hallam KC, prosecuting, said how Mr Josephs’ grey BMW was seen on CCTV travelling down a street in Ladywell, at 1.48pm, on the day of the murder.

He said: “About seven minutes later, at 1.55pm, the vehicle was captured driving north at speed before crashing into a line of parked cars.

“Inside it, Mr Josephs was dying. He had been stabbed deeply into his body, the wound cutting into his liver and his aorta – one of our body’s most important blood vessels.”

A witness saw Mr Josephs talking to a man on a mountain bike through the window of his car.

After a minute, they heard the sound of metal scraping and saw the car had moved, dragging the bike along the road, Mr Hallam said.

The cyclist, dressed in dark clothes, was then seen removing a large knife and making a stabbing motion through the car window, jurors were told.

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Following the stabbing, the car moved out of view before the witness heard a bang and saw the cyclist running away.

The court heard that as he ran into a nearby park he resheathed the knife and shouted: “They take me for a p***yhole.”

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Mr Josephs’ passenger got out of the car and shouted for help, jurors were told.

A post-mortem examination found Mr Josephs died from a stab wound to the front right side, which had been nearest to the car door.

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