LONDON: A man has been convicted of manslaughter following the death of Zahir Visiter in St John’s Wood. Kamal Hussain, 22 of Sutherland Avenue, Maida Vale was found guilty of manslaughter following a trial at the Old Bailey on Friday, 25 October.
He will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, 15 November.
The court heard how 25-year-old Zahir was stabbed to death on Cunningham Place, NW8 at around 18:15hrs on Thursday, 28 March.
According to police information, Zahir had left his home a few minutes earlier and told his family he was going to a meeting near his flat in order to hand over some money; he left the flat with about £280 in cash.
A matter of minutes later Zahir had been stabbed four times, one wound was to his back and another on his arm, thought to have been made when Zahir was trying to defend himself. However the other two wounds were to his chest and both caused fatal injuries.
Zahir was first seen injured by members of the public who saw him lying in Cunningham Place. A blood trail indicated he had been able to travel a short distance from near his home, before he collapsed.
Members of the public, including an off-duty paramedic and GP, tended to him at the scene. However, Zahir’s injuries were not survivable and he was pronounced dead at 19:19hrs at St Mary’s Hospital.
A post-mortem examination confirmed that the two stab wounds to the upper chest were the fatal injuries, both entered the right lung and one had pierced the aorta. These wounds would both have caused massive blood loss leading to death.
It was also noted by the pathologist that all the wounds had been delivered with considerable force. A search of Zahir’s clothing showed that the money he had taken to the meeting was now missing.