Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police
Headline: Man guilty of murdering Finchley student
A man has been found guilty of the murder of 24-year-old Seyyed Rasta Mir-Feyzi in Finchley last summer.
Another man has been found guilty of attempted grievous bodily harm (GBH) in the same case.
[A] Haaris Rana, 22, (17.09.95), of Stainby Close, West Drayton, was found guilty of murder. He had already pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified.
[B] Yasir Ibrahim, 22, (30.10.95) of Maddison Close, East Finchley, was found guilty of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.
Both were found guilty by a majority jury at the Old Bailey on Friday, 9 February.
They will be sentenced at the same court on Wednesday, 14 February.
Police were called at 20:35hrs on Wednesday, 31 May 2017 to reports of a car in collision with a pedestrian in the car park of the Great North Leisure Park off High Road, Finchley.
The victim was assaulted during a fight involving a number of people in the car park. Shortly afterwards the car was deliberately driven at the victim.
Officers, the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance attended.
Seyyed was taken by London’s Air Ambulance to an east London hospital. He was pronounced dead on Thursday, 1 June 2017 at 18:00hrs.
A post-mortem examination took place on 5 June 2017 at Northwick Park Hospital Mortuary and gave the cause of death as catastrophic head injury.
The car – a white BMW – was abandoned at the location but Rana and Ibrahim fled the scene heading towards Finchley High Road.
They were arrested on 4 June 2017 and charged two days later.
Seyyed, from North Finchley, had completed his Bachelor of Science degree in computer network security at Westminster Univsersity shortly before his death.
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Holmes, from the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “Rana’s use of his car as a murder weapon, in the same way that some people use knives, is one of the most repulsive attacks I have seen.
“He is a truly vicious person, who I’m extremely glad is off the streets.
“I hope that today’s conviction brings the family of Mr Mir-fayzi a measure of comfort.”
Mr Mir-Feyzi, Seyyed’s father, added: “Since my son’s death, the man responsible for his murder has also killed my family and me too. I feel like I have lost a part of my body. Knowing that he can never come back has left me and my wife broken.
“We donated our son’s organs and from this, parts of our son live on. Four people have the gift of life because of his death. We were informed that a man in his 30s received one kidney, a female in her 20s received the other, a man in his 30s received his liver and another man in his 40s received our son’s heart.
“It is terrible that his life was cut short in such an unnecessary way. He had a future, he wanted to join the Royal Navy or the Police. He had plans; he had an amazing life; he was loved and I know he would have gone on to do great things.”