Overview

• At the Old Bailey on 8 October, five defendants received life sentences with minimum terms ranging from 22 to 28 years for the murder of Antonis Antoniadis and conspiracy to rob.
• Jurors had convicted the group on 1 August after an eight-week trial that found they targeted Antoniadis for his designer belongings after he left 32 Portland Place in central London.
• The attackers followed his taxi for more than 30 minutes to New Cross, confronted him at the address, and stabbed him in the chest and thigh; he died in hospital on 21 July 2024.
• The gang used a stolen Kia Sportage with false plates, four assailants in balaclavas carried large knives while a fifth stayed in the driver’s seat, and the victim’s phone was later sold.
• Investigators traced the group through hundreds of hours of CCTV and cell-site data, recovered the car, and seized multiple weapons including a zombie knife, machetes and swords, as the victim’s parents and police welcomed the sentences.