Afghan small boat migrant, 18, who travelled 200 miles to stab shop worker faces life behind bars
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By NICK MIAO
Published: | Updated:
An Afghan small-boat migrant who travelled nearly 200 miles to stab a shop worker to death in London is facing life in prison after pleading guilty to murder.
Suliaman Tajzai came from his home in Leeds to lie in wait outside Farmanullah Sherzad's home near Westminster Abbey.
When Mr Sherzad returned home on March 27, Tajzai pounced, chasing him through the streets before stabbing him with a large kitchen knife.
Police found the victim lying in a pool of blood with the weapon embedded in his chest in an attack so brutal his lung had prolapsed.
The Old Bailey last week heard how Tajzai, who is 'understood to be 18' but who claims not to know his date of birth, came to Britain four years ago from France, crossing the Channel on an inflatable boat.
After making a claim for asylum, he was granted temporary leave to remain until January 2029.
Tajzai initially denied murder and his defence team cited psychiatric evidence that he was a 'traumatised refugee' suffering post-traumatic stress disorder. But on Friday, the fourth day of his trial, he changed his plea to guilty.
Suliaman Tajzai, who is 'understood to be 18' but who claims not to know his date of birth, came to Britain four years ago from France, crossing the Channel on an inflatable boat
Footage played in court shows Tajzai browsing for knives at a store in Leeds on the day of the killing.
He then took a train to London King's Cross station, changed his outfit and put on a surgical mask before making his way to the Peabody Estate near the Abbey. Prosecutor Lisa Wilding KC told the court: 'His actions that day were neither a coincidence nor spontaneous.'
Mr Sherzad, 26, was heard 'screaming for his life' as he was chased through the estate.
Tajzai and his cousin, Zakirullah Tarakhail, had previously confronted Mr Sherzad when it emerged he had been secretly messaging Mr Tarakhail's wife Safa.
In September last year, six months before the stabbing, Mr Tarakhail filed a police report accusing Mr Sherzad of stalking and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence. However, Mrs Tarakhail refused to show officers her Snapchat messages with Mr Sherzad
The following month, police attended the Tarakhails' home in Leeds to find Mr Sherzad sitting
on the floor with his wrists bound with fabric, the court heard.
He was arrested for stalking Mrs Tarakhail but told police that they had been 'seeing each other romantically' and that he had been lured to the Tarakhails' flat by a message from Safa, only to be ambushed by her husband and Tajzai. He told officers: 'I am the victim here.' The case against him was dropped.
Tajzai admitted murder and possession of a knife in a public place. He was remanded in custody to be sentenced on Friday.
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