‘Fast Eddie’ club killers get 124 years

Five thieves who stabbed a Greek tourist to death after following him home from a notorious sex party venue owned by ‘Fast Eddie’ Davenport were jailed for a total of 124 years.

Antonios Antoniadis, 26, was murdered after getting out of an Uber taxi outside a friend’s house while on holiday in London on 7 July last year.

Amin Alliche

He was coming home from a night out at 32 Portland Place in Marylebone, where Bonnie Blue boasted of having sex with more than 1,000 men in January.

Convicted fraudster Davenport hosted his infamous debauched gatherings at the mansion including ‘Passing Fancies’ for more than 300 guests.

The five killers had parked outside the club in a stolen Kia Sportage looking for victims to rob.

They changed the number plates before arriving at the venue.

Mr Antoniadis was followed home and stabbed to death after he tried to defend himself with a brandy bottle.

He was wearing a black and gold Versace sports watch worth £1,300 when he was killed.

He had not wanted to go out that night but had been told ‘you only live once’ by a friend.

Joshua McCorquodale, 20, Shian Johnson, 26, Sofian Alliche, 20, his brother Amin Alliche, 18, and Alfie Hipple, 18, all denied but were convicted of murder and conspiracy to rob.

Hipple

Judge Rebecca Trowler, KC, passed life sentences on all five defendants after telling them off for laughing and talking during the sentencing.

Johnson was sentenced life with a minimum of 28 years, McCorquodale was given a minimum term of 26 years, Sofian Alliche 25 years, Hipple 23 years and Amin Alliche 22 years.

Judge Trowler said: ‘Antonis was plainly deeply loved. There is no punishment in terms of years which can bring him back or undo the irreparable harm that has been caused by his death.

‘On the night of 6 and 7 July 2024, the five of you were together in a stolen Kia Sportage.

‘Amin Alliche, you were the driver throughout the night, you changed the number plates on the vehicle that evening, no doubt because you planned on engaging in criminality.

‘All of you were looking for targets to rob.

McCorquodale

‘Your activities were focused around the nightclub known as 32 Portland Place.

‘That evening Mr Antoniadis and his friends Maria and Tia were to go to 32 Portland Place.

‘You followed Mr Antoniadis because you had decided and agreed upon yourselves to rob him.

‘Upon arrival in Florence Terrace, you pulled up in the Sportage, you got out of the vehicle and ran to Mr Antoniadis, You were all wearing face coverings and hoods and some of you at least were holding large knives as you ran.

‘You surrounded him and Maria and Tia.

‘Mr Antoniadis bravely stood in front of Maria and Tia, in their words, shielding them from your attack- they were terrified and feared for their lives.

‘Mr Antoniadis then swung out his arm while holding a small bottle of alcohol, no doubt in an effort to ward you off and defend himself and his friends.

Johnson

‘He was then dragged down the steps and kicked and punched by all four of you.

‘The stab to the thigh severed the femoral artery, causing catastrophic and ultimately fatal blood loss. He subsequently died in hospital.

‘During the robbery, attempts were made to take his bag.

‘Whoever inflicted the fatal blow to his thigh, all five of you that night acted as part of a team.’

A member of the public gallery had to be escorted out of court after disrupting proceedings, saying: ‘It’s bulls**t this, mandem don’t let the system break you, it’s bulls**t this bruv.’

After the verdict in August Johnson shouted at the jury: ‘F–ing racist people, why you finding me guilty, ruined my f—ing life bruv. I didn’t do nothing how you finding me guilty are you dumb?

‘I didn’t f—ing do nothing, what is it cause I’m black, you’re all white, how did I get an all white f—ing jury.’

The jury was not all white and a south asian member of the jury burst into tears and left court sobbing after the outburst.

Dublin-born Davenport was jailed for nearly eight years for a £4.5m ‘advance fee’ fraud in 2011 and sold a property across the road for £27m in 2015 to settle a court order and pay the Serious Fraud Office £14m.

Sofian Alliche

Mr Antoniadis had come to London as a tourist last summer with two women.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said earlier: ‘He had come with a couple of his friends, Maria and Tia, they were spending the week seeing the city, staying with a friend, having some fun.

‘That night, they ended up in a nightclub in the West End called 32 Portland Place, not far from Oxford Circus.

‘It was it seemed, quite a night out – they didn’t even get to the club until just after 4am and they didn’t leave the club until about 8.15am.

‘They were staying with a friend at her address in New Cross in south east London and to get home they booked an Uber.

‘As they travelled out of central London, they had no idea that they were being followed.

‘They had no idea that five young men had been hanging around outside that nightclub all night in a stolen car looking for someone they could rob.

‘It seems that when that group of five saw Antonis come out of the club, those robbers thought they had found a suitable target.

‘So when they saw him come out and get into his Uber, they, in their stolen car followed him.

‘They followed him for over half an hour, all the way to Florence Terrace, New Cross.

‘When the Uber arrived Antonis and his friends walked the short distance to their friend’s front door.

‘As Maria struggled to find the key to open the door, Antonis was approached by four figures in hoods and balaclavas, four of them, because one of the five, the driver, had stayed in the car to turn it around and prepare for their getaway.

‘Antonis was wearing a manbag, and it seems that was what the group were after.

‘Antonis resisted, and struggled, and at one point managed to hit one of his attackers with a brandy bottle he was still holding from his night out.

‘Tragically, that, whether it was brave, because he was a bit drunk, or just an instinctive reaction to being attacked, that reaction was to cost him his life.

‘At least two of the attacking group had with them large knives. One of them shouted “ching him”, in other words, stab him.

‘Antonis was by now on the ground, on his hands and knees, surrounded by the four robbers who were punching and kicking him, and then they stabbed him.

‘He suffered cuts and bruises to his face and head, wounds to his arms as he tried to defend himself, and he was stabbed in the middle of the chest.

‘He suffered a large and deep stab wound to his right thigh which completely severed his femoral artery and caused catastrophic blood loss.

‘His four attackers then ran back to the waiting car, they jumped in and their driver sped them away, leaving their victim bleeding to death behind them.

‘Together, as a team, they waited for a victim to rob, they chose one, they followed him, and then, when they got their chance, when he got home and got out of his cab, they pursued him to his front door and attacked him.

‘They were clearly prepared to use violence to try and pull off the robbery, and given that they had at least two large knives between them, they were clearly prepared to use really serious violence if the need arose.

‘The need did arise, at least as far as they were concerned, and so they used their knives, they stabbed Antonis, and they killed him.’

Mr Antoniadis was taken to hospital and survived for two weeks before dying of his injuries on 21 July 2024.

The stolen Kia Sportage car had been seen outside 32 Portland Place for several hours before the stabbing.

Sofian has a conviction for robbery after punching and kicking a man on a pedal bike after taking his Airpods from his ears.

Johnson has three convictions for possession of knives and multiple machetes and a hatchet were found in his family home.

Hipple has two convictions for possession of weapons.

McCorquodale had convictions for robbery and conspiracy to rob after threatening a series of men for their phone and bike.

He also snatched a phone on a bike.

Davenport’s neighbours have complained for several years about all-night sex parties at the mansion.

He flew back from Thailand to successfully challenge a Met Police closure order at No 32 last December.

They claim they have suffered years of extremely loud music, guests taking drugs and vomiting in the street.

Police had been called 63 times to incidents involving his property following parties.

At the hearing, a police officer claimed at least two rapes had taken place at the mansion.

In 2020, three men were jailed for killing Romanian bouncer Tudor Simionov, 33, outside the mansion after being denied entry to a £2,000-a-table champagne party on New Year’s Day 2019.

Davenport has insisted that nothing illegal ever took place at his property.

‘I don’t take drugs, I don’t let anybody in my house take drugs. I have seen people smoking marijuana, they are not from my house,’ he said.

Davenport has been throwing huge events for years after founding the raucous Gatecrashers Ball when he was 20.

McCorquodale, of Upper Park Road, Camden, Johnson, of Argyle Walk, Camden, Hipple, of Kentish Town road, Camden, and Amin and Sofian Alliche, of Bury Place, Holborn, denied but were convicted of murder.