Leytonstone stabbing: Teenager convicted with murder of 18-year-old Ghulam Sadiq

A teenager has been convicted of murdering an 18-year-old man who was stabbed to death with a 22 inch zombie knife in east London.

Emadh Miah, 18, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of murdering Ghulam Sadiq by his home in Leytonstone on August 6.

He was stabbed in the back after being ambushed in front of a pizzeria last year.

The court heard how Miah, from Solihull in the West Midlands, was staying with his grandmother in east London at the time of the attack.

Miah had taken a train to Stratford where he hired a bike and then made his way to Leytonstone, where he was seen cycling around by a number of witnesses.

It was a sunny day, but Miah had pulled up the hood of his jacket, was wearing gloves and had his face concealed by a surgical mask.

He made his way to the street where Mr Sadiq lived and waited.

When Miah caught up with Mr Sadiq, who tried to cycle away, he stabbed him in the back before replacing the knife inside his trousers and cycling away.

Mr Sadiq managed to run to a restaurant in High Road, Leytonstone where he collapsed.

Police gave urgent first aid until the arrival of the London Ambulance Service and the London Air Ambulance but despite the best efforts of all involved, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A special post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as sharp force trauma to the back.

The wound was nearly 15 cm in depth and had pierced Mr Sadiq’s heart.

At court Miah  admitted manslaughter but pleaded not guilty to murder.

The jury found him guilty of murder.

He will be sentenced on a date to be confirmed.

DCI Linda Bradley of the Met’s Specialist Crime said: "This is one of those rare cases where we have never been able to conclusively establish a motive for the crime.

"Miah tried to claim diminished responsibility, but the careful planning that went into buying weapons and his actions throughout the day of the fatal attack meant the jury were able to see through his deceit.

"Ghulam’s family have now seen the man responsible for his death brought to justice, but I know that their anguish and loss will be with them forever and our thoughts remain with them.

"The team worked quickly to identify and arrest Miah and to uncover the attempts he had made to purchase the weapons he used in the attack.

“I cannot help but reflect that large knives and machetes being sold online is open to abuse and lamentably continues to be a risk to the public."