A Greek tourist who was stabbed on the way home from a West End nightclub was killed for his man bag, a court has heard.
Antonios Antoniadis, 26, was attacked as he got out of an Uber following a night out at 32 Portland Place in Marylebone, London last July.
A group of five killers had been sitting in a stolen Kia Sportage looking for a victim to rob when they saw the holidaymaker walk past, jurors at the Old Bailey heard.
Joshua McCorquodale, 20, Shian Johnson, 25, Sofian Alliche, 20, Alfie Hipple, 18, and an unnamed 17-year-old then allegedly followed him all the way to his friend’s house in New Cross, southeast London, before four attempted to take the item while one sat in the car.
Mr Antoniadis then struck one of them with a brandy bottle, before he was stabbed and left on the ground as the group sped off in the vehicle, which had been seen outside the club for several hours ahead of the attack, the court heard.
The visitor survived for two weeks in hospital before dying of his injuries on July 21, 2024.
All five accused deny murder and conspiracy to rob.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said: ‘Mr Antoniadis was here in London on holiday, a tourist who had come on holiday from his home in Greece.
Antonios Antoniadis, pictured, a Greek tourist who was stabbed on the way home from a West End nightclub, was killed for his man bag, a court has heard
‘He had come with a couple of his friends, Maria and Tia, they were spending the week seeing the city, staying with a friend, having some fun.
‘That night, they ended up in a nightclub in the West End called 32 Portland Place, not far from Oxford Circus. It was it seemed quite a night out – they didn’t even get to the club until just after 4am and they didn’t leave the club until about 8.15am.
‘As they travelled out of central London, they had no idea that they were being followed. They had no idea that five young men had been hanging around outside that nightclub all night in a stolen car looking for someone they could rob.
‘They followed him for over half an hour, all the way to Florence Terrace, New Cross.
‘As Maria struggled to find the key to open the door, Antonis was approached by four figures in hoods and balaclavas, four of them, because one of the five, the driver, had stayed in the car to turn it around and prepare for their getaway.
‘Antonis resisted, and struggled, and at one point managed to hit one of his attackers with a brandy bottle he was still holding from his night out.
‘At least two of the attacking group had with them large knives. One of them shouted “ching him”, in other words, stab him.
‘Antonis was by now on the ground, on his hands and knees, surrounded by the four robbers who were punching and kicking him, and then they stabbed him.
He was allegedly attacked as he got out of an Uber following a night out at 32 Portland Place in Marylebone, London, pictured, last July
‘He suffered cuts and bruises to his face and head, wounds to his arms as he tried to defend himself, and he was stabbed in the middle of the chest he suffered a large and deep stab wound to his right thigh which completely severed his femoral artery and caused catastrophic blood loss.
‘His four attackers then ran back to the waiting car, they jumped in and their driver sped them away, leaving their victim bleeding to death behind them.’
He added that the prosecution’s case described them as equally responsible for the murder.
‘They were clearly prepared to use violence to try and pull off the robbery, and given that they had at least two large knives between them, they were clearly prepared to use really serious violence if the need arose,’ Mr Jones said.
‘The need did arise, at least as far as they were concerned, and so they used their knives, they stabbed Antonis, and they killed him.’
The trial continues and is set to last six weeks.
