'Short-tempered' cyclist jailed for at least 27 years for fatally stabbing a BMW driver who knocked over his bike
23 July 2024, 17:28 | Updated: 23 July 2024, 18:58
A "short-tempered" cyclist has been jailed for at least 27 years for fatally stabbing a BMW driver who knocked over his bike.
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Ahmed Chakile Gonladieu, 25, attacked aspiring songwriter Alexandros Josephs, 29, through his open car window last May 10.
Mortally wounded, the victim drove a short distance down the road and crashed into a line of parked cars, the Old Bailey was told.
The attacker ran off and Mr Josephs was pronounced dead at the scene in Ladywell, south-east London, at 2.38pm, jurors heard.
Gonladieu was found guilty of murder and having a bladed article and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years on Tuesday.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Josephs' mother, Lana Joannou, spoke of the special bond she had with her son.
She said: "The loss has no comparison. I will never get over what has happened."
She condemned the defendant for his lack of remorse, saying: "I will never be able to forgive this person for what they have done. All I ask is for justice."
Her son's ambition was to be a songwriter, but Ms Joannou said she could no longer bring herself to listen to his songs.
Sentencing him, Judge Anuja Dhir KC said: "I cannot be sure be sure you intended to kill Mr Josephs.
"It has been suggested that there was also an element of provocation in that Mr Josephs' car hit and dragged your bicycle.
"But that cannot excuse or justify what you did next."
She noted the defendant's immaturity and history of offending, with 17 previous convictions for 32 crimes.
They included 11 convictions for violence and possession of weapons, including causing grievous bodily harm to a prison inmate.
The court heard he hit the prisoner with a metal rod, piercing his cheek and knocking out a tooth.
Judge Dhir told the defendant: "Your offending pattern suggests, and your actions on the day of this suggests, that you are a young man who has a short temper and when you lose your temper you act violently."
Prosecutor Jacob Hallam KC told how Mr Josephs' grey BMW was caught on CCTV travelling south down a dead-end road in Ladywell, south-east London, 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 had seen Mr Josephs talking to a man on a mountain bike through the open window of the grey BMW on Malyons Road.
After a minute, the witness heard the sound of metal scraping the ground and looked out to see the car had moved, dragging the bike along the road, Mr Hallam said.
The cyclist, who was wearing dark clothes, was then seen to remove a large knife from a sheath and made a stabbing motion through the car window, jurors were told.
The car moved out of view before the witness heard a bang and went outside to see the alleged knife attacker running away.
The court heard that as he fled into a park, he re-sheathed the knife and shouted: "They take me for a pussyhole."
Mr Josephs' passenger got out of the car and shouted for help, jurors were told.
Read more: Pictured: Biker and wife killed in horror crash that left girl, 11, orphaned
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.
In his defence, Gonladieu claimed that Mr Josephs' passenger reached for a knife.
The defendant claimed he grabbed the blade and stabbed the driver in preventative self-defence because Mr Josephs had a gun.
The court was told Gonladieu, of Railway Terrace, Ladywell, initially said nothing and then claimed he had simply run away.
He changed his story only after blood belonging to the victim was found on his trousers.
A jury at the Old Bailey rejected his version of events
