Deliveroo driver murder: Man jailed for life for road rage killing in Finsbury Park

A man has been jailed for life for murdering a Deliveroo moped rider who he stabbed to death in a road-rage attack in north London.

Takieddine ‘Taki’ Boudhane, 30, died following the confrontation in Finsbury Park on January 3 2020.

Nathan Smith, 28, of Marlborough Road, Archway, was tried and convicted of murder and jailed for life at the Old Bailey on Thursday.

Smith emerged from his van with a knife when Taki complained about the standard of his driving in a minor road altercation.

Taki tried to defend himself with his crash helmet as Smith ran at him with the knife, inflicting a fatal wound to the chest.

Despite the efforts of emergency services, he died at the scene shortly afterwards.

The day after the murder, Smith fled the UK and initially travelled to Austria, where he remained in hiding for more than a year.

He was placed on Europol’s Most Wanted Fugitives list and officers from the Met’s serious crime manhunt team known as Op Artemis worked alongside detectives leading the murder investigation to track him down.

Smith was located in Portugal and arrived back in London on 3 June, 2021, when he was charged with murder.

Taki’s mum, Sadie Boudhane, said their family will now always have a ‘missing piece’.

“It is hard to find the words to explain the impact my son’s murder has had on our family but I will try,” she said.

“Whilst our son was still lying in the street, this man had already started planning his escape from the country.

“He would not accept responsibility for taking Taki’s life, and because of this our family had to endure another 17 months of questioning. Why was he taken from us? Who would do such a terrible thing?

“Both mine and my husband’s health suffered as a result of the stress of losing our son, and the protracted police investigation.

“My husband then passed away before he could see justice passed on our son’s murderer.

“This man continued to torment my family by refusing to accept responsibility for his actions. He made us endure a crown court trial where my son watched his brother’s murder frame by frame day after day as the CCTV was played and analysed.

“Even then he claimed he felt like he was the victim and showed no remorse towards my family.

“Not once did he say he was sorry for what he had done, only that he suffered PTSD whilst on the run: On the run because of his own actions, on the run for murdering my child.”

Det Ch Insp Neil John, who led the investigation, said: “It is heartbreaking to see and hear the pain that this senseless murder has caused those who loved Taki.

“They have shown great strength in coming to court every day during what has undoubtedly been the most painful time of their lives.

“Smith is clearly an extremely dangerous individual and we are pleased he is now off our streets, unable to cause further harm.”

He must serve at least 21 years in prison before being considered for release.