The court heard that on several occasions the victim Adnan Saleh had been in contact with a man who had been stabbed, where it appears arrangements were made to meet in the Paddington area.
Each of the defendants had a role to play and all knew exactly where to go for the planned attack.
Woods, Kebire, Dabbous and the man who had previously been stabbed were already at the location when Adnan arrived to meet them as they walked along Sale Place towards Junction Mews, W2.
As the group approached the cul-de-sac, Woods and Dabbous walked ahead and entered Junction Mews, where CCTV captured the moment Dabbous passed Woods a knife.
As Adnan entered the Mews, Woods produced the knife and swung it at him.
Adnan attempted to run back to Sale Place but Woods caught up to him and launched his attack with Dabbous joining in.
Kebire was sat on a wall at the end of the Mews and after watching the fight develop, he approached the melee, produced a knife and provided the fatal stab wound to Adnan’s collar-bone area.
Adnan was eventually able to get away from his attackers and collapsed further along Sale Place.
He was taken to hospital where doctors made numerous attempts to save him.
However, he had suffered catastrophic damage to his brain due to severe blood loss and was in a coma until he sadly died on 29 November 2022.
During an earlier appearance on 8 September 2022 Woods and Dabbous pleaded guilty to violent disorder. On the same date, Woods, Kebire and Dabbous each pleaded guilty to separate counts of having a bladed article, namely a knife.
The three men have been jailed for the murder of 28-year-old Adnan Saleh after detectives uncovered Snapchat messages sent a week before the attack alleging that the victim had been present when another man was stabbed.
Adnan Saleh, 28, was attacked at around 18:30hrs on Saturday 11 June 2022.
An investigation by Specialist Crime detectives identified that Steven Woods, Majid Kebire and Fadel Dabbous were responsible for the attack on Adnan.
Following a 22-day trial which concluded on Friday, 12 May 2023 at the Old Bailey, they were found guilty of murder. On Tuesday, 27 June the trio were sentenced as follows:
– Steven Woods, 27 (01.01.96), of Lilestone Street NW8, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 22 years.
– Majid Kebire, 22 (03.11.00) of Lilestone Street NW8, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 22 years.
– Fadel Dabbous, 19 (15.12.03) of Grendon Street NW8,was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 18 years.
Detective Inspector Marcus Jones, who led the investigation for the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “My thoughts are with Adnan’s family. It cannot be easy to listen to how these three men planned the last moment of their loved one’s life. I hope that seeing these men jailed can provide some comfort.
“We have never established the exact reason why the group turned on Adnan but it is devastatingly clear that they did. This sad case exemplifies how online taunts can have tragic real-life consequences, not just for the victim, but also his family and friends. This brutally violent encounter lasted just minutes but its impact will last a lifetime.”
In a victim impact statement presented to the court, one of the family members said: “Adnan’s life wasn’t the only one that was lost that day, you’ve taken mine, his mother’s and his family’s life. We’ve begun our life sentence.”
