Plumber found guilty of road rage murder of Deliveroo driver

Nathan Smith, 28, of Archway, swung out with a knife and stabbed part-time delivery driver Takieddine Boudhane, 30, on the evening of January 3, 2020 in Charteris Road, following a minor road incident the Old Bailey heard in the week-long trial.

Takieddine Boudhane, who was murdered by Nathan Smith in Finsbury Park (Image: Archant)

Smith, in a white VW Caddy van, and moped rider Mr Boudhane had made a right turn in into Lennox Road before the fatal confrontation.

Mr Boudhane, a chef and part-time delivery driver who was known as Taki, had become upset at the manoeuvre, and drove alongside Smith's van.

Words were exchanged, prosecutor Julian Evans QC had told jurors, and, from CCTV footage, it appeared the encounter was “not a friendly one”, he added.

Seconds later, Smith stopped in Charteris Road where Mr Boudhane and another moped rider had parked nearby, and the situation escalated as Smith acted "aggressively" and emerged from his van with a knife in hand.

Boudhane was said to have a screwdriver, and Smith went “on the attack” after the moped driver swung out with his crash helmet to ward off him off, jurors heard.

Even when the incident appeared to end, Smith was “simply not prepared to let things rest there”, Mr Evans said.

He told jurors: “When you analyse and consider the sequence of events the CCTV shows, it demonstrates that what Mr Smith continued then to do had nothing whatsoever to do with self defence.

“Rather it shows he was the aggressor. He ran at Takieddine a number of times with knife in hand.”

Describing CCTV footage of the incident, the prosecutor said: “As Smith ran towards him, Takieddine swung his crash helmet towards Smith. This action, again say the prosecution, was defensive.

“As Smith stepped on to the pavement, he ducked below the swinging crash helmet, and swung his knife twice, in quick succession, towards Takieddine’s upper body.

“It is the prosecution case that one of those two rapid blows with the knife, each delivered with force, entered Takieddine’s chest.”

Despite suffering a 7.5cm wound, Mr Boudhane ran after Smith and hit the side of the van with his crash helmet as he drove off, the court heard.

Mr Boudhane then collapsed on the ground. Despite the efforts of medics at the scene, he died at 7.42pm.

Meanwhile, Smith drove home and said nothing to his family about what had happened, jurors heard.

The next day, he took a flight from Luton airport to Austria using his brother’s passport and bank card.

When police searched for him at his parents’ address, the defendant’s father showed them a video believed to be from his son featuring views of lakes and mountains.

Police went on to recover Smith’s van and found bloodstains matching the victim’s DNA.

In February 2020, an arrest warrant was issued for Smith, who returned to the UK after 17 months on the run in Europe.

On June 3 2021, he travelled back to the UK from Lisbon, accompanied by British officers.

During his trial, Smith claimed he had acted “defensively” after the victim produced a screwdriver.

He told jurors: “From the beginning I’m intending to scare him. The only thing that scared him was me coming towards him swinging a knife. I do not remember intending to hit him with a knife.

“He swung for me, I swung back. I was not angry. I was scared at this point.”

The jury deliberated for about three hours to reject Smith’s claim of self-defence and find him guilty of murder today (August 17).

Judge Mark Lucraft QC remanded Smith into custody until sentencing next Thursday (August 25).