Farhad Khalili murder: Man and teenager jailed for life

A man and a teenager who ambushed a man and stabbed him to death have been given life sentences.

Farhad Khalili, 32, was murdered in Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, in December 2021 as he walked home from a kebab shop.

Sean Deery, 29, from West Moseley, who had known Mr Khalili since childhood, received a minimum term of 25 years.

Sebastian Niven, 18, from Thames Ditton, was given a minimum custodial term of 14 years.

Judge Peter Rook told them they had "ambushed Farhad Khalili when he was on his way to visit his mother".

"Acting together, you carried out a brutal knife attack on a man in a situation where he was defenceless.

"In those few seconds you deprived him of his most precious possession, life itself."

At the defendants' trial last year, the Old Bailey heard how Deery was engaged in a "feud" with Mr Khalili, who had been a friend of his, over either drugs or money. Deery arranged for Niven, 13 years younger than him, to take part in the attack.

"You looked upon him as a 'little cousin' and were quite prepared to let him wield a knife... so you could extract revenge," Judge Rook said.

The trial had heard how the defendants had waited for Mr Khalili and chosen a vantage point with a view of his family home before stabbing him in the back.

They had attempted to disguise themselves with their hoods drawn up, covering their faces.

Mr Khalili had a telephone in his right hand, was wearing earphones and drinking from a bottle and "was completely oblivious as to what was about to occur and had no way to defend himself," said Judge Rook.

A victim impact statement from the victim's mother Goli Ghanbari said: "As a mother whose son has been murdered for nothing, I now have to live with this life sentence.

"My family have had their lives torn apart in a matter of seconds and I can't see a future for myself."

The Old Bailey heard that Niven, who was 15 at the time of the stabbing, had significant mental health issues and was a victim of exploitation by older criminals.

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