Ilford man one of three jailed for murder of student brutally attacked in a case of mistaken identity.

Three men have been jailed following the murder of a young law student who was brutally attacked in a case of suspected mistaken identity.

Sven Badzak, 22, was stabbed to death on a busy west London high street in the early evening of Saturday, 6 February 2021, after being set upon by a group of males.

Met detectives carried out painstaking phone and CCTV work to place the defendants at the scene of the murder and in regular contact with each other. 

Rashid Gedel, 22, of Fenman Gardens, Ilford and Shiroh Ambersley, 23, of Matthews Close, Wembley were each jailed for 27 years for the murder of Sven and 12 years (concurrent) for Section 18 GBH against a then 16-year-old male – Sven’s friend.

A third man, Harvey Canavan, 19, of Walterton Road, W9, was sentenced to seven and a half years for manslaughter.

Detective Inspector John Marriott, Specialist Crime North, said: “My thoughts today are with the family of friends of Sven, who lost his life needlessly at the hands of these men. Nothing will ever bring Sven back to them but I hope they can take some small comfort from the fact that three of his attackers have been brought to justice and will now face a significant part of their lives behind bars.

“I would also like to praise the bravery of the second victim attacked that night. The courage he has shown in facing his attackers has enabled us to bring this prosecution and secure justice.

“None of the defendants have shown any remorse for their actions, with Rashid Gedel even boasting about the incident on his social media accounts in the days that followed the murder. It’s clear the group went out that evening intent on carrying out serious violence. Armed with knives they roamed the streets seemingly looking for victims.

“Devastatingly, Sven and his friend became their targets in what we believe was a case of mistaken identity, as they suspected them to be members of a rival gang. They were not. They were simply two friends who were walking home after a trip to the shop.”

Gedel and Ambersley were convicted on Friday, 7 July. Canavan pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the first day of the trial. During their sentencing hearing the judge commended officers for the high standards of the investigation.

Prior to the stabbing, Gedel and Ambersley walked into a bakery on Kilburn High Road, Kilburn and were clearly seen to stare at two females stood at the counter, before leaving without buying anything. Detectives believe this was an indication that they were actively looking for someone to attack.

Sven and his friend were walking further along the same road, having visited a supermarket. The friend was watching a football match on his phone. Unbeknownst to them, Gedel was fast approaching them from behind. As Gedel got closer to the pair he was joined by Ambersley and Canavan who, until that point, had been on the other side of the road.

When they reached the victims they were heard to say “What are you on?” before stabbing Sven in the chest and the second victim in his back. Sven managed to run a short distance before collapsing in the street. Here the defendants attacked him again, punching and kicking him. Following their attack on Sven they began to chase the second victim who had run from the scene. He was able to reach a supermarket and seek help and the suspects gave up the chase and ran from the scene.

Sven was treated by paramedics who attended, but sadly he died at the scene.

An investigation was launched by detectives from the Specialist Crime Command. Diligent and thorough inquiries focussed mainly on CCTV and mobile phone work identified the three defendants who were all arrested over the coming weeks. Within five weeks, Gedel and Ambersely had been charged. Canavan was charged in September 2021.

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