Kamal Hussain, 22, of North West London, dumped his bloodstained clothes in a mosque and pretended to be at prayers
A killer who dumped his bloodstained clothes in a mosque and pretended to be at prayers after stabbing a music producer to death is facing jail.
Zahir Visiter, 25, was repeatedly knifed shortly after saying goodbye to his girlfriend at his home in St John’s Wood, North West London, on March 28.
Kamal Hussain, 22, and Yosef Ahmed, 18, rode up to Mr Visiter on Santander bicycles and Hussain stabbed him four times, then watched from a distance as members of the public rushed to help.
Hussain and Ahemd donned balaclavas and hoodies as they fled – and Hussain threw his knife into Regent’s Canal.
They were chased by police before racing into London Central Mosque and barging through evening prayer to barricade themselves in a toilet cubicle.
There they changed into T-shirts and shorts to disguise themselves then ‘mingled’ with worshippers while officers circled the grounds outside.
Police bodycam footage shows Hussain sporting a T-shirt with the words ‘Get Hyped’ in bold print moments after the murder.
They both talked their way past police after claiming they were there for evening prayers before fleeing the mosque.
Armed police search the mosque near Regent’s Park in London on the evening of March 28
Mr Visiter had earlier received a number of calls which he answered out of earshot of his girlfriend Sarah Akapelwa, leading her to fear he was cheating on her.
But after the last call he asked her to help him count out £280 in cash and left her to hand over the cash to an unknown person on the street outside.
Zahir Visiter, 25, was repeatedly knifed shortly after saying goodbye to his girlfriend at his home in St John’s Wood on March 28
Ten minutes later Ms Akapelwa learnt that her boyfriend had been stabbed.
A neighbour called emergency services who took Mr Visiter to St Mary’s Hospital but he was pronounced dead at 7.19pm.
Hussain and Ahmed denied murder and were cleared after a three-week trial at the Old Bailey. Hussain was convicted of manslaughter, but Ahmed was acquitted. Mr Visiter’s family wept in court as the verdicts were announced.
James Mulholland, QC, prosecuting, said Mr Visiter suffered four wounds ‘delivered with considerable force’ in the attack. He added: ‘Both of the wounds on the chest were fatal injuries. They penetrated the right lung.
‘The result was massive blood loss and internal haemorrhaging followed by collapse and unconsciousness.’
Mr Visiter had left his home a few minutes earlier and was waiting to meet an individual somewhere near his flat to hand over some money.
‘During their time together that afternoon Sarah Akapelwa recalled her boyfriend receving about five or six calls which he answered out of her hearing.
‘At one point she was so concerned about this that she asked him if another girl was ringing him which he denied.’
Moments after the stabbing Hussain and Ahmed were caught on CCTV sprinting towards the mosque, entering the building at underground level.
‘They basically head for the washroom where worshippers at the mosque perform their ablutions and cleanse themselves before going to prayer,’ said Mr Mulholland.
‘They head straight in and they head for a cubicle. As Mr Ahmed is following he has his shoes in his hands rather than leaving them outside.
Police investigating after the armed raid on the Regent’s Park mosque in London in March
‘You see a gentleman in the middle stop him and consequently Mr Ahmed goes and leaves his shoes outside.
‘He deposits the shoes outside and puts on a pair of flip flops and heads for the same cubicle as Mr Hussain, a small cubicle.
‘He’s in there for several minutes and again this is key to what they’re doing and why this whole thing is clearly pre-meditated.
‘When he comes out he is wearing only a t-shirt and so he’s removing himself of anything in terms of hoody that could be used to identify him and what he does is he comes back out, puts his trainers back on, and then he walks up the stairs to the ground level where the main hall is for prayers.
‘He walks around to see if there are any police in that area and adjusts his tracksuit bottoms, lifts them up to make them look like shorts and tucks them up around his knees.
‘He goes back into the cubicle where Mr Hussain has remained before they both emerge.
‘Note the difference in Hussain’s appearance, he’s removed the outer clothing, the gilet, the dark green hoody and he’s now wearing a T-shirt and carrying the other clothing.
‘He’s also wearing shorts and he’s taken off his jeans. They go to a corner and Mr Hussain deposits the clothing he has removed and placed it in the corner.
‘He’s followed by Mr Ahmed who does exactly the same thing.
‘They leave through a different gate in the complex and there’s no doubt they are trying to leave the mosque compound to that which they entered.’
Giving evidence Ahmed claimed he had been in the area to buy cannabis and only ran because he was ‘frightened and scared’ when Hussain shouted: ‘There’s two undies (undercover police) there, let’s run’.
Ahmed said he spent the next few days with Hussain because he ‘had nowhere else to go’, the court heard.
Hussain claimed admitted they had entered the mosque to change their appearance but claimed it was because they had some cannabis on them and did not want to be searched.
Ahmed, of St John’s Wood, and Hussain, of no fixed address, both denied murder. Hussain was convicted of an alternative charge of manslaughter.
He will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on November 15 at 2pm.