Tourist followed from club and stabbed, court told

Five young men murdered a Greek tourist in south-east London after following him for more than half an hour when he left a nightclub, a court has heard.

Antonis Antoniadis, 26, was stabbed in the chest and suffered a deep wound to his thigh as he prepared to enter the property he was staying in, on Florence Terrace in New Cross, the Old Bailey was told.

Mr Antoniadis died from his injuries two weeks later, on 21 July 2024.

Sofian Alliche, 20, Shian Johnson, 25, Joshua McCorquodale, 20, Alfie Hipple, 18 and a 17-year-old defendant who cannot be named due to his age, all from north London, deny murder and conspiracy to rob.

The court heard that Mr Antoniadis was in London on holiday with two female friends "to see the city and have some fun", and had gone to a club not far from Oxford Circus in the early hours of 7 July.

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said when the friends left at about 08:15 BST they booked an Uber to an address in New Cross.

"They had no idea they were being followed," he said. "They had no idea that five young men had been hanging around outside that nightclub in a stolen car, all night, looking for someone they could rob."

The jury heard that as Mr Antoniadis and his friends arrived at the property they were staying in, he was approached by four figures "in hoods and balaclavas".

A fifth person, the driver, stayed behind in the stolen car "to prepare for their getaway", said Mr Emlyn Jones.

He said the group were after Mr Antoniadis' bag but he resisted and hit one of his attackers with a brandy bottle he was still holding from his night out.

At least two of the assailants had knives, the court heard, and one of them shouted "ching him" – slang for "stab him".

Mr Antoniadis was surrounded by the four robbers who punched, kicked and stabbed him, the jury heard.

The men then ran back to the waiting car, "leaving their victim bleeding to death".

The five defendants are jointly responsible for the murder, the prosecution alleges.

The trial continues.

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